CLINT MANSELL & VARIOUS ARTISTS / Stoker (Original Motion Picture Sountrack) [2013]

Clint Mansell scoring a Park Chan-Wook film, written by Prison Break star Wentworth Miller and starring Nicole Kidman & Mia Wasikowska?

Color me more than intrigued.  

With Stoker being based heavily around sound design, Mansell keeps it creepily subtle and scores the film in a rather unsettling somber hushed tone, centered around the classical piano & a light electronic ambience.  Mixed in with the score are a variety of songs, including an original piece by Philip Glass and 2 new songs from Emily Wells going a little darker than usual which suits her well.  Normally songs jumbled in between score cues hurts the listening experience but somehow they all fit together seamlessly.  A fine collection of brooding and seductive songs for a cold, lonely night.

4 becomings out of 5

Songs Of Note: EMILY WELLS / Becomes The Color; CLINT MANSELL / The Hunter Becomes The Game

EMILY WELLS / Mama [2012]

Muli-instrumentalist Emily Wells is pretty much the definition of "talented" and she shows it off on 2012's Mama.  A sultry, intimate little meshing of hip-hop and neo-classical music using self-made loops and a vast array of toy instruments.  As clever and talented as she is, Wells could have used her capabilities to create something a little more unique but instead opts for a safe zone somewhere in between Feist and Zooey Deschannel's recipe for "hip" quirky fluff, only a little more bolder and ballsier.  It's easy to see the girl is gifted and has a lot more to offer, so I'll definitely be keeping an ear out for her in the future.

3½ one women orchestras out of 5

Songs Of Note: Mama's Gonna Give You Love; Johnny Cash's Mama's House