Lionsgate’s soundtrack album for the fleeting action comedy Killers features a typically bubbly score by Rolfe Kent, or rather a series of brief cues that undoubtedly were sandwiched between sound effects and songs in the film mix.

The bulk of the album’s content is made up of songs (8), with Kent’s score selections (8) totaling about 15 mins. Kent doesn’t write long scores – his approach, particularly in comedy, is to hit the main marks and make sure what’s heard is wholly supportive for that moment, so one can’t wholly gripe about the score’s brief representation on this digital download.

Kent’s cues are eclectic, concentrating on short bursts of frenetic action with a comical edge. The rhythmic patters are textured, the instrumentation a bit nutty, and Kent’s themes are light Bondian. Sleek Barryesque strings dominate “Arriving in Nice,” with lengthy harmonic parts, and the cue’s flow is occasionally broken up by little percussive tangents. Kent employs a grungy bowing technique which hints at the film couple’s lack of precise skills set and bickering, and there are twangy sounds that add some exotica, if not hint a bit at Barry’s Cold War spy scores, like The Ipcress File.

The album’s score selections close with a thematic suite where Kent gathers up all the nuances he’s dropped throughout the cuts, and crafts a zippy closing statement, moving from action to romance, and ending with a Spanish styled capper featuring guitar and handfuls of clapping.

© 2010 Mark R. Hasan