So sometimes music can make or break a movie. It’s best when you don’t even realize it’s there, when the music lends itself so completely to the momentous climax that all you can do is feeeeeeel anxious/horrified/joy/exuberant. When I saw Joe Wright’s Hanna, even though I was aware that the Chemical Brothers were behind the entire movie’s music, I still couldn’t remove myself from the moment to focus on it. It’s fantastically interwoven into all of the fight scenes, as well as the lighter sides when they’re revealed. Placing the movie aside (it’s great), the songs come walloping after, to graze themselves on your fancies. The Chemical Brothers, Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons, are well known in the Electronica world for their marathon live sets and the big beats they dig up and flash around rooms. The English school mates formed with the name The Chemical Brothers (after several others) and released their debut album in 1995 called Exit Planet Dust. They’ve been busy since then, releasing their seventh studio album (Further) and contributing three new songs to the Black Swan soundtrack. And, now they have an entire movie their credit with Hanna. 20 songs reflect the many locales and events of the film excellently with some wonderful standouts. “Escape 700” is a pulsing bleating thing that gets you ready for anything that happens next. “The Devil Is In The Details” is a merry-go-round surrounded by men with guns, you can have fun, just don’t look up and around you. Others, like “Container Park” (the track from the trailers) and the wonderful “Hanna’s Theme (Vocal Version)” are great tracks to add to your collection, they’re unique and will stand the test of time in any mixtape. Hanna’s character (the main) has a fascination with music, having never heard it in her isolation. So every voice, every strum and every turn of the record is revered in the film. It’s lovely to see.
Listen to some of the songs from the soundtrack below. Lots ‘o volume now.
The Devil is in the Beat/Details by CARRICK
The Chemical Brothers – Hanna’s theme (Addictpulse Calm The Hipster Remix) by Addictpulse
container park by The Chemical Brothers by Hannamovie
(The Hanna Sountrack is available now exclusively from iTunes)
-Matt
