DAVE PORTER / Breaking Bad: Score Album - Vol. 2 [2013]

Breaking Bad fans were lucky enough to get one album of score cues from Dave Porter so it's nothing short of a miracle to find there's a 2nd volume of his anxiety inducing haunted soundscapes released in 2013 to coincide with the last season.
While the first volume focused mostly on the first four seasons, this second album is almost exclusively dedicated to the increasingly darker and almost too intense final 16 episodes.  It's quite apparent Porter has grown as an artist over the past 6 years, as has he become quite comfortable with noises and textures that evoke feelings of paranoia and dread, much like earlier Trent Reznor works.
This album deserves a listen in the dark with a pair of good headphones to really get the heart racing and skipping beats for mind-twisting pleasure.

4 train jobs out of 5

Songs Of Note: Gas Can Rage; We're A Family

DAVE PORTER / Breaking Bad: Score Album [2012]

Like the music of Twin Peaks, LOST and Seinfeld, Dave Porter's score for the AMC series Breaking Bad becomes an instantly recognizable character all in itself. 

Departing from a traditional score, Porter utilizes electronic textures & layers, haunting soundscapes and a vast array of ethnic instruments from all over the world to create a nightmarish modern Western flavor lacking any sort of friendly melody.  The best way to describe it is Ennio Morricone, Trent Reznor and Thomas Newman in a blender and left to chill.  The cold, empty, disturbing imagery it conjures up makes for a fascinating yet challenging and unsettling listen. 

4 Mr. Chips turned Scarface out of 5

Songs Of Note: Crawl Space; Parking Garage Standoff