By Chris Bacon (mostly)

Sony Classical

An astronaut crashlands on Earth 65 million years ago…

Chris Bacon most recently turned up in the SFB review of the soundtrack for Netflix’s Wednesday, as a co-composer along with Danny Elfman of Batman, Sleepy Hollow, Men In Black and Dr Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness fame. Bacon himself provided additional music for many Elfman projects, as well as scoring the likes of Men In Black International and Source Code. This is probably appropriate, and certainly ironic, as originally Elfman was signed to score 65, but then replaced by Bacon, whom one might consider a protege of his, and for whom Elfman scored some “additional music” here. In particular, Elfman contributed to five of the 25 tracks – “Infinity Of Space” (the opening titles), “Moving Out,” “Lago Attack,” “Rest,” and “The Big Lie.”

There’s also a third composer adding additional melodies to the score, in the shape of Gad Emile Zeitune, who assisted Bacon with additional music on the TV show Bates Motel. His material is used in four tracks, “Infinity Of Space,” “Moving Out,” “The Big Lie,” and “Bones”.

The fact that we kind of have three generations of composing lineage means that the variations in their styles blend together nicely and don’t show; it all feels like the work of one composer, providing a homogenous whole. Or, homogenised if you prefer, as it does end up coming across as a little typical.

The opening theme, “Infinity Of Space,” Is a lovely mix of ethereal synths and strings, with a feel of being alone among the stars before something goes horribly wrong. The early part of the album concentrates more on mystery and emotion, with some really nice melodies in the likes of  “Earth” and “Flower,” carried by more pleasant strings and airy woodwinds, but this in primarily an action score, and so most of it combines ticking clock countdown motifs, screeching synths, and rapid strings driving everything forward.

“Moving Out” and “The Big Lie” are highlights, as is “Finale,” which of course gives us a twirl of all the main types of action instrumentation in a thrillingly blended way.

What we really have here, though, is a fairly effective SF action score, that works well in terms of conveying both the sense of a protagonist alone far from home, and the visceral chase action elements. It’s also a score built to a standard modern formula, and it flows with that formula very well, very precisely, and of course effectively. That, of course, is also its weakness; well-produced and played though it is, it is solidly and completely formulaic. There’s no real ear-grabbing originality here.

When you think of movies with dinosaurs, you probably think at some point of the memorable Jurassic Park theme. When you think of a lone hero facing off against a brutal animalistic opponent from a different world, elements of Alan Silvestri’s Predator motifs are probably in your head. This score doesn’t have any memorable motifs like that. Effective, yes; memorable and earwormy, no.

Verdict: It’s a nice listen, and conveys the thrills and threats of man lost alone really well, but it is a straightforward modern SF action score like many others. 7/10

David A McIntee