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| The Hunger Games: Songs From District 12 & Beyond. |
Various Artists
The Hunger Games: Songs From District 12 & Beyond
PopMusicMogul Rating: **** out of 5.
It's kind of hard to imagine what one would put on the
soundtrack for one the most anticipated movie of the season, especially when
that film is about teenagers fighting each other to the death with a
star-crossed love story weaving around itself in the background. While the music
on the album could go many directions, it manages to remain in the direction
it's destined to follow. The folk inspired, drum-thumping, guitar-picking,
mellow voice tracks seem to flow together naturally, capturing the overwhelming
melancholy and the gritty realism that makes The Hunger Games absolutely
unique. Each song is a literal vision of the post-apocalyptic desolation of
America, so naturally the album is sort of a throwback to vintage Americana,
evoking some of the cheesiest bluegrass music we've heard in a while. The standout track on the album, Daughter's
Lament, by The Carolina Chocolate Drops, is a sing-songy piece that's destined
to evoke the coldest of chills. The women croon about various elements pertaining
to both the film and the novel, giving an ever so slight hint of what is to
come. Another standout, the hauntingly beautiful, Tomorrow Will Be Kinder, by
The Secret Sisters, is definitely a somber ballad, but the track promises the subtle,
gentle kindness of tomorrow, offering the smallest light even in the darkest of
desolation. The song is an exact mirror of the artistic vision of the author,
Suzanne Collins. The album comes together smoothly; with a few mishaps and
bumps along the way. The voice of the popular break-up superstar, Taylor Swift
seems to offset the album slightly. While the album leans heavily on indie
ballads, the effort of putting Taylor on the album seems like a half-hearted marketing
ploy to allure more people in to buying the soundtrack, instead of a real
effort to capture the raw emotion of the Hunger Games. The tracks she lends her
touch to are indeed beautiful; but her whispy voice just doesn't belong in this
collection devoted to the hard-hitting, pulsating bluegrass rebellion of The
Hunger Games. If the soundtrack is as good as the film, we can expect great
things.
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