GENRE | SOCIOPATHIC SOUNDTRACKS

LABEL | COLUMBIA RECORDS

Trent Reznor has made a lifelong career of music that pushes people out of their comfort zone. In the early nineties under the moniker of Nine Inch Nails, he introduced a generation to bondage and angst through Grammy award winning tracks like “Wish” and “Happiness in Slavery.” He finely crafts the art of putting people on edge and holding them there. And for half his career, he has applied to this film as well—his greatest success coming from collaborations alongside Atticus Ross on David Fincher films. Their first effort, Social Network, was awarded many accolades including an Oscar for Best Original Score. Although their third collaboration Gone Girl has been snubbed for even a soundtrack Oscar nomination this year, it is a powerfully haunting album.

As Ben Affleck’s character puppets along, and his cryptic wife (Rosamund Pike) disappears in Gone Girl, the ambient sounds play the third lead role. Whether it be a damaged love song like “Sugar Storm” or a daunting detective arrangement such as “The Way He Looked at Me” — each scene is heightened by shards of synth poking at your nerves, constantly elevating the unease of the story. The signature sounds of Nine Inch Nails peak through, especially on “Technically, Missing,” which is highly reminiscent of dream-state soundscapes incorporated by Reznor on his 1999 album The Fragile. The fragmented compositions blend with soothing orchestral arrangements to create an unsettling state.

The film is a morbid look at marriage and these tense sounds add to the animosity perfectly. The film is highly thrilling, and I feel that its largely attributable to Reznor and Ross. The track record of these three is proving to work very well. They are transitioning in a modern era film dream team, much like the E.T./Jurassic Park era of John Williams and Steven Spielberg … just quite a bit more bleak and under our skin. Pop on the newly released vinyl, and be ready to feel like something awful is going to happen.

FURTHER READING:

NINE INCH NAILS LIVE AT XFINITY CENTER: JULY 2014