HANNA (OST) by The Chemical Brothers

We seem to be living in a new golden age for film soundtracks, or at least film soundtracks which stand up as albums on their own merits, independent of visual accompaniment.  Popular musicians like Trent Reznor (The Social Network), Daft Punk (Tron Legacy) and Alex Turner (Submarine) have all recently recorded film scores which have received much critical acclaim not just as soundtracks, but also as original musical works.  Along with the consistently captivating work of Clint Mansell (Requiem For A Dream, The Fountain, Moon etc) and Hans Zimmer's increasingly experimental post-Batman renaissance, these recordings seem to form the vanguard of a new generation of film soundtracks which hark back to impact-making '70s classics such as Saturday Night Fever and The Taking of Pelham 123, albeit with a fresh, post-millennial aesthetic.  The latest addition to this canon of new and exciting film scoring is the Chemical Brothers' sublime soundtrack to the 2011 UK/US/German film Hanna. 

Despite being known primarily for their pounding electronic beats and funky synth work, the sound of this recording by the Chemical Brothers is a remarkably varied one, and very much inkeeping with the themes of the film itself.  The soothing chimes and vocal samples of opener Hanna's Theme give way to the ominous, bassy pulse and oriental melodies of Escape 700, nicely capturing the idea of lost innocence which is central to the movie's plot.  The closest the soundtrack comes to having a recurring leitmotif is the charming, playful whistling of The Devil Is In The Details, which as well as being an infectious melody is symbolic of the corrupted fairytale to which it forms an accompaniment.  The tune turns up again in the churning Euro-funk of The Devil Is In The Beats, which if ever released as a single would justly be a massive hit.  Spacey electronics abound on tracks like The Forest and Marissa Flashback, and the Brothers are in more familiar territory with the myriad samples and majestic keyboards of Quayside Synthesis, Bahnhof Rumble and Car Chase (Arp worship).  Light and dark are effectively contrasted on Interrogation/Lonesome Subway/Grimm's House, which captures the Lynchian chill of the movie's darker moments, before the climactic tension of the album's penultimate tracks gives way to an upbeat variation of the opening theme.

The listener is taken on a journey through skittering beats, exotic melodies and ethereal soundscapes which mirror the lonely deserts, dark highways and abandoned playgrounds of the film itself.  This dreamlike vibe is shared by both the music and its cinematic counterpart, but while the soundtrack would be worthy of considerable acclaim if released as just a standalone Chemical Brothers album, the movie would be stripped of its all-important atmosphere by the exclusion of this haunting score.  The record has previously only been available in the UK through the iTunes store, but other versions become available as of 4th July and I urge you all to lay your hands on one if you can.  See the film, too!  As with the soundtrack, it's not quite like anything else I've experienced this year.