Top Five Film Soundtracks of 2013

What is to follow is a list of my personal top five soundtracks of the year that has been 2013. It’s a list which is composed predominantly of film scores, largely because they tend to be what I listen to the most, and frankly, this year has seen a lack of truly great compilation soundtracks. Thankfully, you can always rely on a good score, so prepare for a list which features original works from some of the greatest film composers and artists endeavouring to augment your cinematic experiences!

5. The Great Gatsby – Various Artists

While opinions regarding the film itself were decidedly mixed, there was no denying that the soundtrack to Baz Luhrmann’s adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s text was impressive in both diversity and energy. Produced by some guy called Jay-Z, the soundtrack invades the film’s 1920s setting with contemporary hip-hop and R&B flavours, featuring artists ranging from Beyoncé and Fergie to Goyte and Lana Del Rey.

The songs may vary in terms of individual quality, but all neatly fit the tonality of Luhrmann’s hyper-stylised world, with opening track ‘100$ Bill’ laying the groundwork for tunes which complement the grandeur of Jay Gatsby’s parties, including ‘A Little Party Never Killed Nobody’ and ‘Bang Bang’ from that “William” chap. This is a soundtrack which truly encapsulates the style and spirit of its parent film: exactly what all great soundtracks should accomplish.

Standout Track: ‘Young and Beautiful’ – Lana Del Rey

No other cut quite captures the emotional potency behind the love story of Gatsby and Daisy as well as this smooth, lyrical and heartbreaking offering from Lana Del Rey. It so encapsulates the passions of the pairing that Craig Armstrong even incorporated it into the film’s equally-impressive orchestral score.

4. Iron Man 3 – Brian Tyler

This soundtrack from the earlier stages of 2013 (dating back to April) has stayed with me throughout the year, receiving numerous plays across the months, and therefore it deserves to be classed as one of the year’s strongest offerings. And why? Because it’s so much damn fun. Much like the film itself, Brain Tyler’s score is buoyed by its leading man Tony Stark, attributing a strong and memorable theme to the character (well, it is his third movie; it’s about time he had a theme). Tyler also gives many numerous characters unique and well-crafted themes in the tracks ‘War Machine’, ‘The Mandarin’, and ‘Hot Pepper’, whilst maintaining the theme laid down in the opening track throughout. Favouring traditional trumpet fanfares over metallic techno, Tyler constructs a refreshingly old-school superhero soundtrack with confidence and gusto. His score for Thor: The Dark World benefits from the same strengths, despite feeling somewhat more trite when judged in comparison.

Standout Track: ‘Can You Dig It?’

Perhaps the most awesome end credits track of the year, Tyler’s finale is one that epitomises the spirit of the score and the film as a whole. Namely: super fun, super daft, and filled to the absolute brim with a buzzing personality.

3. Man of Steel – Hans Zimmer

Easily the most successful aspect of the big screen’s most recent interpretation of Superman, Hans Zimmer’s score achieves the near-impossible feat of making you forget that the John Williams’ original fanfare exists. Sensibly dropping trumpets entirely from his arrangement, Zimmer builds his score on the strength of a 12-strong percussion group, who help to craft a unique and powerful sound for Zack Snyder’s boy in blue. It also sounds suitably otherworldly, attempting to convey the alienation felt by Clark Kent as he attempts to navigate the Earth and find his true calling.

The sound is dark, moody, and somewhat devoid of the optimism of Williams’ score and the Donner-era Superman movies, but it builds and builds in strength as each track continues, culminating in a memorable and (thankfully) more hopeful theme for the character. It is a soaring example of a superior composition, which only further highlights how much of a musical genius Zimmer truly is. The film itself is not worthy of such an outstanding piece of orchestration.

Standout Track: ‘What Are You Going to Do When You Are Not Saving the World?’

The track which clarifies Superman’s new theme. The way it builds, the momentum it gains, and the crescendo which ultimately erupts forms a stirring, exciting and shiver-inducing composition.

2. Oblivion – M83

The most impressive debut in the realm of film scoring this year stemmed from the talents of M83. The French electronic band put their talents to the Tom Cruise-starring Oblivion, and the results were nothing short of spectacular. Director Joseph Kosinski has already put the talents of Daft Punk to film with Tron Legacy, and he continues his tread of success here, as the musical stylings of M83 gave Oblivion a unique musical identity.

A mixture of flavours encompassing techno, string orchestra, and determined percussion all gel together to deliver a score capable of being simultaneously action-packed, epic, haunting, and genuinely emotional when it counts. The influences are not hard to distinguish (there’s a good dose of Zimmer, and a fair smacking of Daft Punk’s Tron Legacy work), but the unique blend of different styles and orchestras help maintain a sense of uniqueness within the atmospheric score.

Standout Track: ‘Radiation Zone’

This track best demonstrates M83’s merging of different styles into a single distinguishable atmosphere, whilst also featuring the soundtrack’s best and most heart-thumping use of percussion. Special mention must also be given to the beautiful title track, which features vocals from Susanne Sundfør.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2g6EYkUsQF4

1. Only God Forgives – Cliff Martinez

By no means is Only God Forgives the best film of 2013, but it has certainly delivered the year’s most outstanding soundtrack. It’s a suite of work which does more for the atmosphere of the film than perhaps even Nicolas Winding Refn’s direction does. Encompassing a blend of original scoring and songs which feature the Thai members of the cast, Cliff Martinez has produced a haunting, foreboding and bleak score, imbued with a dark energy.

Martinez takes the work he did for Refn’s Drive and amplifies it further; Refn’s latest offering very much allowing for more scope in which to construct prominent and nerve-shredding themes and motifs. Through combinations of organs, drums, and an ’80s techno vibe, Martinez proves why he is one of the most unusual and creative composers working in cinema today. He has produced a thoroughly original and inventive score, which enforces the ambient atmospherics, neon infusions, and cultural placing of the film’s aesthetic. A masterclass of atmospheric scoring, with an oriental flavour to boot.

Standout Track: ‘Wanna Fight?’

The coolest track from Only God Forgives is the one which boasts the most techno-inspired stylings, while also personifying everything that is incredible about the soundtrack in its entirety. Unique, operatic, unsettling, but bizarrely enveloping.