28 Days Later CD (Original Soundtrack)

28 Days Later The soundtrack to Danny Boyles radical, zombies-as-rageaholics horror film 28 Days Later has a fittingly eerie, volatile score that captures the desolate paranoia of a post-apocalyptic London as well as the worst behavior of its undead denizens. It was rumored that Godspeed You Black Emperor was going to score the film but that honor went to British composer John Murphy although GYBEs music appears in the film and seems to have influenced some of Murphys pieces, particularly Rage and In the House - In a Heartbeat, which intersperse maelstroms of guitars with bleakly atmospheric passages. Likewise, the prickly-yet-dreamy guitars on No More Films and Jims Dream also recall Radiohead as well as Godspeed. Tracks such as Tower Block and The Tunnel occasionally succumb to predictable-sounding widdly guitars and video-game-like beats and synths, but the claustrophobic dread of I Promised Them Women and The Search for Jim is both subtler and more effective. Soprano Perri Alleynes pristine vocals grace Jims Parents (Abide With Me) and Taxi (Ave Maria), which add just the slightest hint of spirituality and optimism to the proceedings. Unlike the soundtracks for some of Boyles other films, 28 Days Later has relatively few pop songs on it, but the ones it does have stand out that much more. Grandaddys AM180 is a much-needed dose of comic relief, while Boyles beloved Brian Eno is represented by An Ending (Ascent), which may be the most apt use ever of Enos music in one of Boyles films. Enos music is another key influence on Murphys score, particularly on the luminous Red Dresses. Unfortunately, Blue States Season Song ends up sounding like an updated, trip-hopped version of Tina Turners We Dont Need Another Hero from Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome and hardly fares better in Rui Da Silvas remix (which is one of the U.S. editions bonus tracks, along with a slightly more inspired remix of the operatic Taxi Ave Maria). The U.S. edition also features multimedia content including extra footage, the trailer for the film, and pictures from the set. While this album is unlikely to reach the iconic status that the soundtrack to Trainspotting did, 28 Days Later is a very different soundtrack for a very different movie, and is more than competent in its evocation of the best and worst in humanity. Heather Phares, All Music Guide Artist Original Soundtrack Studio XL Format CD