Original Music By: James Newton Howard
Duration: 52 mins
Label: Lakeshore Records
The best word I can use to describe this album is hypnotic, and this only is to be expected in a score composed by one of the true music maestros of Hollywood, James Newton Howard for Nightcrawler, which if the tracks āLoder Crashesā, āDay to Nightā and āEntering the Houseā are to be believed, promises to be a truly pulse-pounding thriller. I really, really enjoyed listening to this album.
Newton Howard has composed the scores of so many fantastic Hollywood films (The Fugitive, The Dark Knight, the Hunger Games franchise to name but a few) that it beggars belief, and he really is at the top of his game here. The score is very āre-listenableā indeed, and Iām excited about watching the film in the next few days, so I can see the context of the scenes for which the soundtrack has been composed. Normally as a reviewer Iāve seen the film first and then listened to the soundtrack again separately after having seen the film, and in this case it is completely the other way around.
Other score highlights include the action-packed āLou and Rick on a Rollā and āIf It Bleeds It Leadsā, which wouldn’t be out of place in an ā80s action movie, and the much more contemplative āLouās Freeā, all of which remind me that the titles of the tracks on the album are fun, and mostly free of the āon the noseā track titles of a lot of other soundtracks.
To sum up, the Nightcrawler score grabs you immediately and then never lets up, creating an intense, moody atmosphere. You feel like you are within the world of the film from the word go, and I wholeheartedly recommend the album as a purchase, without having even seen the film yet. And with a soundtrack this good, I canāt wait to watch it.
I was a bit torn with this soundtrack. Listening to it away from the film, I agree with you and think it’s very good, but I found it didn’t settle well with the film itself. I thought it was a little distracting at times. It may have just been because I’d heard the soundtrack before watching the film so was very aware of it, but something didn’t seem right to me.