Radio 1 Rescores Drive, But Why Bother?

So we start off with Pryda’s slow building, low key ambience, which added a little tension to the first getaway drive – but no more than the original – but then began to feel a little more Eurotrash-y: from my scribbled notes – calling yourself Pryda isnt any way to run from ‘Call On Me’, Eric.

Then Chvrches. Now, I’m not not a fan of Chvrches and their electro-synthy vibes, but I’m afraid my notes from here are a little expletive-laden: “NO NOT OKAY. WHAT IS THIS. Total fucking rip off and not even as good. Also lyrics? ‘never let you get away’? That’s his fucking M.O. as a GETAWAY DRIVER. Not clever. No.” So in the moment, in the film, I wasn’t a fan. Mainly because I think it stuck too close to the Kavinsky’s original opening salvo while also somehow veering wide of the mark, and without doing anything new, thus irking me wildly. As a song, it’s nice; as a score, it didn’t work for me (more on that later).

Was that a brief few-seconds blast of Bring Me The Horizon on the racetrack? So brief I couldn’t really grasp it. Will they be back? (Yes)

Jon Hopkins arrangements – which are threaded throughout – are nice here. Ambient melody, but wavers a little over Mulligan and Goslings cute day out, when it feels a little sickly.  Overall though, the incidentals sound similar enough to the original score.

JonHopkins_pressphoto2
Jon Hopkins – gorgeous incidentals

Dry river culvert drive now, visuals as stunning as ever. The 1975 I believe. Ok to start with, but then – “was that fucking steel drums? What are you doing.” Apart from the steel drums, once it kicks in it’s the least objectionable part of the score so far. Possibly because weird-voice-man didn’t hit his stride too much. The replacement for College here was always going to be tricky.

At this point in my notes I wrote; “all these songs are blurring into one bleary, misty parody already. This film is one of my favorites and its struggling to hold my attention now.” Signs not great.

Smatterings of The Neighborhood, Foals and SBTRKT in here somewhere, all sounding nice and inoffensive. My notes are muddled here and I cant work out which band soundtracks the moment where Driver takes the bullet from mini-Standard, but whichever was ominous enough, also “like an auditory bleeding through of drivers protective instinct”. Foals sounding like fan blades and heartbeats and humming bees. Nice. The humming starts to wear thin pretty quickly though, and isnt as gripping as the original score over the riverside deal.

Foals - they were in there somewhere
Foals – they were in there somewhere

Notes: “Not sure who’s scoring here but its a bit crappy Massive Attack.”

Briefest smudge of Banks there was it? Oh and now Bring Me The Horizon are back apparently – I confess I must have blanked out the audio here somehow because I had to rewind and check.

Now we’re sort of cooking – Baauer scores Driver’s walk to see Cook in the strip-club; brooding, heavy, appropriately dark.

We’re in the elevator and Laura Mvula gets the big one. My notes? “I like you Laura, but no. NO NO NO.” Doesn’t live up to the original, and doesn’t add anything new. You dont need the vocals here; the music underneath would have done. Over to Shannon with The Neighborhood again, and it’s not bad. Low key enough for the cuts between lonesome Driver driving, and with Shannon.

Bastille now; “fuck off Bastille.” That’s it. Incredibly wrong here.

Driver is meeting Nemo’s dad now (Albert Brooks, but I can’t think of him as anything else) and we’ve got Biffy Clyro’s Simon Neil – as ZZC – and it ain’t good. Notes read “what the fuck is this church organ doing here no no no fuck off no I dont want your quasi – funeral march rumblings no (sorry Simon)” so that’s that.

Here’s Simon again after the car park showdown, and my notes are just as disparaging for his second song; “*Tina Belcher noise* nope. Sorry Simon but nope. Stop singing.” Here again – as with Mvula – it would be improved without vocals, even though the pianos are bad enough.

"This is where I thrash."
“This is where I thrash.”

However, he shuts up in time for the stabbings, and is “alright” while Driver sits in the car and Mulligan hopefully knocks on his door. By the time the closing credits roll around though, we’re hit by unnecessary and badly done strings (notes: “NO NO NO JUST STOP NOW”).

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