Original Motion Picture Soundtrack New Moon
Twilight Music from Death Cab for Cutie, Thom Yorke, Kllers & Muse
Nov 4, 2009
One of the most highly anticipated albums of 2009, the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack The Twilight Saga: New Moon gathers a who’s who of alternative and indie rock faves to capture the film’s melancholy magic.
Though dark and moody, as expected for the soundtrack to a movie depicting the trials and tribulations of a pack of werewolves, a clan of vampires and the teenage girl who loves them, New Moon avoids clichés (spoken snippets from the film) and works on its own as a brilliant indie rock playlist.
Death Cab for Cutie, Thom Yorke and Muse on New Moon
Top-heavy, the New Moon Soundtrack goes straight for the jugular with sharp performances from big names like the Killers, Death Cab for Cutie, Muse and Thom Yorke.
Death Cab for Cutie lead the soundtrack with their brooding tune “Meet Me On The Equinox”, possibly the only single-orientated track on the disc, while Radiohead’s Thom Yorke delivers one of his most powerful and dark performances on the hypnotizing “Hearing Damage”, a soundtrack highlight.
The Killers return to their Sam’s Town-era indie rock roots and play it safe on “White Demon Love Song”, while Muse remix “I Belong to You” from their latest release The Resistance.
Adding a layer of buzz-saw guitar and chopping the track down to a more manageable bite size, Muse’s “I Belong to You” gains a new life. “I’ve travelled half a world to say you are my muse,” they sing, with a hint of the otherworldly added to their lyric, now part of the Twilight saga.
Lykke Li Possibly New Moon Soundtrack Breakout Artist
Despite the big names on this album, the real double take moment comes with “Possibly” from newcomer Lykke Li. Haunting may sound cliché given the subject matter of this vampire movie soundtrack, but Li’s eerie track manages to skim the edge between innocence and possession.
Not unlike a young Jane Sidberry, Li’s voice sounds both confident and childlike on this under-produced piano track propped by barely audible background noises and a choral hum. “Tell me will you hear my stop…tell me when my sorrow’s over,” she achingly sings on this heartbreaking piece, a great introduction to this new young talent.
Bon Iver and St. Vincent, Grizzly Bear, The Editors and Alexandre Desplat
As the soundtrack progresses, Bon Iver and St. Vincent break out their acoustic guitars and strum through the downhearted “Roslyn”, a chamber-folk track that proves it’s hard to be a hippy when you’re singing about teen vampire romance.
The remainder of the New Moon soundtrack contains a mix of gloom-chic tracks and mood pieces that blend into each other seamlessly. “Slow Life” by Grizzly Bear stands out in the second half of the album, as does “No Sound But the Wind” by The Editors who sound characteristically broody and sophisticated on this contribution.
Bringing the album to a close, the instrumental “New Moon [The Meadow]” performed by Alexandre Desplat, ends the soundtrack on a softer note, and takes the edge off the angst that simmers throughout this compilation of dark indie rock tracks.
There have been a lot of vampire movies and an equal number of soundtracks. The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack The Twilight Saga: New Moon excels as one collection of vampire songs with bloody good bite.
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