Search - Clint Mansell :: Smokin' Aces [Original Motion Picture Score]

Headphone Commute Review

Headphone Commute | 03/17/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Former lead singer and guitarist of Pop Will Eat Itself, Clint Mansell matures into a Golden Globe nominated composer, and a winner of numerous awards for best original score for a film. I have previously sang praises to Mansell's musical scores to Darren Aronofsky's Pi, Requiem for a Dream, and, of course, The Fountain. Being in love with Mansell's melancholic modern classical pieces, which are perfectly complemented by the performance of The Kronos Quartet, I decided to grab the soundtrack to Smokin' Aces - I have not seen the film, and instead listened to the album "as is" - as music. From the first track I am immensed in haunting images that glide with that uneasy feeling of something lurking in the shadows, until it all explodes with tension breaks of silence. In the soundtrack he effortlessly controls the mood, dynamics, and even the genre of individual pieces. The orchestral accompaniment works very well with an organic big beat and a funky rhythm. The scenes switch, and so does the music. Forty five minutes of music take you through mental images driven by emotion saturated sound. Mansell is clearly a craftsman of his trade, and Smokin' Aces may be his most cinematic composition to date."