Beautiful Creatures Soundtrack Review

• 16th Feb 2013

Showing a talent for working their way around a scene and showing a strong talent for introducing various themes throughout their score, The rather oddly names The New Number 2 are the young geniuses behind the score for Beautiful Creatures. Turns out they are quite an inspired choice.

When you think a bunch of boys in a band, your mind might suddenly dread an onslaught of vocal heavy numbers, but this largely an instrumental score, and often an effective one. Sure there are guitar riff heavy tangents that delve into darker, seedier and more seductive areas. But there is also a heavy dose of orchestral work that also no doubt aides the drama; be it for the bright, the creepy or the downright sinister goings on of the film.

There is perhaps to get picky an over reliance on breathy vocals on some tracks, but to be fair at the same time, this is all part of the audio decor. Characters within the film are often references in the listing which if you haven’t seen the film at least lets you build in your mind a rough background and sensibility to who these people may be as the score is very good at laying down a feel for character. If Emmy Rossum’s character does not turn out to be a bit of a dark femme fatale temptress we’ll be quite shocked – as they save the more dark and seductive strings for her.

It was perhaps a brave but ultimately obvious choice to get a pretty boy band to come up with a score for a film aimed at teenage girls, but the results are also beyond perhaps what anyone may have expected. If you like moody surrealism, this one is recommended, strongly.

Steven Hurst