By Jeff Russo

Lakeshore Records, out now

Lakeshore Records’ second release of music from the first season of the Dan Stevens-starring X-Men show features some more great tracks from Jeff Russo, but at just 29 minutes long it feels more like a supplementary disc than a standalone release.

When Lakeshore released their first soundtrack from Legion, only two episodes had aired, and the music was clearly from these opening instalments. Such was the success of the series (and presumably the sales of the album?) that a follow-up covering the series up to the end of the season seemed a strong possibility.

A variation of Ravel’s Bolero (Fauxlero) from Chapter 7 and Dan Stevens performing Muppets classic The Rainbow Connection on banjo from Chapter 5 are billed as ‘much-anticipated’ cues and they are certainly some of the most ‘out there’ cues you’ll hear this year.

The remainder of the album is score by Jeff Russo (Fargo) who has continued to avoid the superhero grandstanding music normally associated with the genre, quite simply because the show is more about the mind, the tricks it plays on individuals and how you’re never entirely sure where you are. To aid this there’s dissonant strings, trippy slides and visits to the same ballpark as Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon.

The 8 score cues include Caper, which starts with the sound of an old modem phone dial-up, while Harpsichord With Undercurrent is initially a fun 6 minutes that synthesises from old to new.

It’s not always easy to follow what’s going on without the aid of the visuals – heck, it’s tricky to follow what’s going with the visuals – but treat it more as a mood piece than a series of cues and there’s plenty to enjoy.

Verdict: A nice to accompaniment to Season One’s first volume of tracks, this will no doubt be snapped up by the show’s legion of fans (Legionnaires?) but casual buyers might feel a little short changed and be better served by Volume 1. 6/10

Nick Joy