MP3 + CDR: Prisoners (2013)
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Rating: Very Good
Label: WaterTower Music / Released: September 17, 2013
Tracks & Album Length: 16 tracks / (55:22)
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Special Notes: n/a
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Composer: Jóhann Jóhannsson
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Review:
Unfolding like a dragged-out incantation, Jóhann Jóhannsson’s score is build around a step-like ascending / descending theme which often rises from a rather grungy batch of chords. The effect is an atmosphere of absolute dread – grim and miserable due to the score’s reliance on the same theme – and a pacing which moves like an ominous, foggy cloud. Prisoners should be taxing for meandering through just slight theme variations, but there’s something about the way Jóhannsson keeps the tempo irregular (or at least feigns a drifting musical pace) that’s hypnotic, if not trance-inducing.
A rare cluster of pulsing synth beats are present in a few cues such as “The Tall Man,” but the rhythms and snarling, low-level synth chords mimic an unwanted chill, jarring the listener yet keeping one locked inside the score’s grim arena by sticking to the same handful of thematic notes for consistency of mood.
Heavy vibrato from a sparse group of strings and distorted bass lines are equally unsettling, and it’s only in the lengthy final cue where Jóhannsson provides some closure, with rising high notes, and a slightly warmer theme statement.
Grim, yet deeply affecting for those with a predilection for minimalism and grimy emotional trauma.
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© 2014 Mark R. Hasan
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External References:
IMDB — Soundtrack Album — Composer Filmography – YouTube Interview
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Select Merchants:
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