Brake
Brian Tyler
" Effective but also quickly forgotten "Written by Thomas Glorieux - Review of the regular release
Brake was allegedly written before Buried, or Buried was allegedly written before Brake. Either way, both movies share a lot in common, and it's not uncommon two movies with more or less the same premise are released during the same period. Meaning, it probably means one of the 2 will receive a lot more attention (actor or release date wise). Considering Buried was released a year before Brake, and considering sexiest man of the year Ryan Reynolds starred in it, logically Buried walked away with most of the attention. That doesn't make Brake less, but it does mean I've seen Buried and I've not seen Brake, yet.
However somehow musically, I knew what to expect. At least if you've experienced Buried and if you realize Brian Tyler performed every single instrument on this soundtrack. Meaning, I can see why directors walk up towards Brian Tyler. Because he's an orchestra on itself, and despite the numerous efforts he unleashes per year, he's still not the big A list composer, meaning he's affordable. And if you listen to the finished product, you have to say: "wow, good job Brian. Job well done, it fits the movie perfectly." And yes it's a perfect fit of a score. It's also the score we hear mostly today. Fitting for the project, but lacking a hook (aka themes and melodies) to make it fitting for a CD.
As said numerous times before, this is a supporting score. And that means: if you take away what it has to support, you're left with a score that loses its interest. This is a sound design effort that amuses me for about 5 to 10 minutes, no more. And that means 30 minutes is stretching it, 50 minutes is killing it. Because there is once again originality here for about 10 minutes, and it's not illogical you hear various tracks returning that have literally the same feeling, same structure, aka are simply exactly the same. Mostly it's moody music that's performed by piano (for the occasional emotional moments), electric guitar (for the rougher sounding exterior), percussion (for the rhythm and occasional suspense) and the synthesizer effects that dominate the entire soundtrack, creating a constant alienating and moody sound design.
Honestly that means that whatever you're bringing, all that has to keep you interested. But considering most of the ideas return after a while, Brake doesn't keep you that focused anymore. And the occasional rhythmic surprises might wake you up after a while, they also put you right back once they've finished. This is a background score, for the movie but also for your personal listening experience. And idea or theme wise it's pretty thin. The piano melody returns endlessly, and the sole change of scenery is the uplifting moment in "Coda". Making Brake quite effective, but also quite mundane. Honestly, you have to check out the youtuble clip of Brake, because it shows you the work that Brian Tyler has put in this effort. And for that I have to give this a 10 out of 10. But working solely on it is not enough, you also have to capture your audience, not contain them for a little while. For that themes, melodies or interesting techniques are a necessity. For that Brake hasn't got that interesting edge The Killing Room did possess.
Track Listing
1. Brake (Main Title) (2.09)
2. Roulette (3.36)
3. The Blind Watchmaker (3.26)
4. Inside the Box (1.35)
5. Regarding Melancholy (1.44)
6. Pale Blue Dot (2.12)
7. Surroundings (1.46)
8. Pusher (2.40)
9. Annalen Der Physik (3.49)
10. Loss (4.51)
11. The Cold and the Dark (3.01)
12. Intrinsic Motion (2.14)
13. Sense Memory (2.43)
14. Suspicions (2.54)
15. One Last Chance (3.34)
16. Coda (4.32)
17. Brake (End Title) (3.21)
Total Length: 50.07
However somehow musically, I knew what to expect. At least if you've experienced Buried and if you realize Brian Tyler performed every single instrument on this soundtrack. Meaning, I can see why directors walk up towards Brian Tyler. Because he's an orchestra on itself, and despite the numerous efforts he unleashes per year, he's still not the big A list composer, meaning he's affordable. And if you listen to the finished product, you have to say: "wow, good job Brian. Job well done, it fits the movie perfectly." And yes it's a perfect fit of a score. It's also the score we hear mostly today. Fitting for the project, but lacking a hook (aka themes and melodies) to make it fitting for a CD.
As said numerous times before, this is a supporting score. And that means: if you take away what it has to support, you're left with a score that loses its interest. This is a sound design effort that amuses me for about 5 to 10 minutes, no more. And that means 30 minutes is stretching it, 50 minutes is killing it. Because there is once again originality here for about 10 minutes, and it's not illogical you hear various tracks returning that have literally the same feeling, same structure, aka are simply exactly the same. Mostly it's moody music that's performed by piano (for the occasional emotional moments), electric guitar (for the rougher sounding exterior), percussion (for the rhythm and occasional suspense) and the synthesizer effects that dominate the entire soundtrack, creating a constant alienating and moody sound design.
Honestly that means that whatever you're bringing, all that has to keep you interested. But considering most of the ideas return after a while, Brake doesn't keep you that focused anymore. And the occasional rhythmic surprises might wake you up after a while, they also put you right back once they've finished. This is a background score, for the movie but also for your personal listening experience. And idea or theme wise it's pretty thin. The piano melody returns endlessly, and the sole change of scenery is the uplifting moment in "Coda". Making Brake quite effective, but also quite mundane. Honestly, you have to check out the youtuble clip of Brake, because it shows you the work that Brian Tyler has put in this effort. And for that I have to give this a 10 out of 10. But working solely on it is not enough, you also have to capture your audience, not contain them for a little while. For that themes, melodies or interesting techniques are a necessity. For that Brake hasn't got that interesting edge The Killing Room did possess.
Track Listing
1. Brake (Main Title) (2.09)
2. Roulette (3.36)
3. The Blind Watchmaker (3.26)
4. Inside the Box (1.35)
5. Regarding Melancholy (1.44)
6. Pale Blue Dot (2.12)
7. Surroundings (1.46)
8. Pusher (2.40)
9. Annalen Der Physik (3.49)
10. Loss (4.51)
11. The Cold and the Dark (3.01)
12. Intrinsic Motion (2.14)
13. Sense Memory (2.43)
14. Suspicions (2.54)
15. One Last Chance (3.34)
16. Coda (4.32)
17. Brake (End Title) (3.21)
Total Length: 50.07