My mom has a wonderful tradition of saying “God, what is that terrible sound?!” when I listen to music around her house. She’s especially fond of this phrase when it comes to music that is repetitive, droning, and heavily reliant on the saxophone. You can imagine, all that considered, her general feelings towards the music of Colin Stetson. (Nothing personal, Colin.)
The “American independent entertainment company” A24’s reputation for stellar horror scores — including the likes of Under The Skin, Green Room, and (our favorite film of 2016) The Witch — is downright legendary. And of course, those films are also some least-favorites of my lousy mother’s! (Nothing personal, mom.)
The company’s latest horror film, Hereditary, stars Toni Collette, and I’m told is making waves at its early showings. It follows a mother and daughter who, after the death of their family’s matriarch, begin to unravel an appalling reality about what was left behind. Sounds like something mama would just love!
And with his knack for eerie, full-bodied, drone music, Stetson is well-equipped to follow the horrific footsteps made by Mica Levi on that singular Under The Skin OST.
You can get a full palm-sweating dose of Stetson’s signature spooky sound on the opening “Funeral,” where Stetson’s sax lays down a dark low end underneath echoing skitters and anxiety-inducing buzzes. (Full disclosure, I only got 80% through the track before I was asked to turn it down. My bad!) But, maybe you’ll have better luck? Try streaming it for yourself down below via SoundCloud following the movie trailer.
The full soundtrack is out on a double, 180-gram LP this coming June 8 on Milan Record, the same day as the film’s international release. If you’re thinking about going, maybe hit me up? Something tells me my usual movie date won’t be interested… ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Hereditary: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack tracklisting:
01. Funeral
02. Mothers & Daughters
03. Brother & Sister
04. Charlie
05. Party, Crash
06. Mourning
07. Aftermath
08. Séance / Sleepwalking
09. Second Séance Pt. 1
10. Second Séance Pt. 2
11. Second Séance Pt. 3
12. Classroom
13. Dreaming
14. Book Burning
15. Joanie
16. Get Out
17. Leigh’s Things
18. Steve
19. Peter
20. Chasing Peter
21. The Attic
22. Reborn
23. Hail, Paemon!
More about: Colin Stetson
