J-ok'el
George Shaw
" One aspect of the album's entertaining value is how melodic the action pieces are. "Written by Thomas Glorieux - Review of the regular release
How impressed I was about The Abandoned and how bored I was during The Dark Hour, there is no denying now that MovieScore Media's crowning achievement has arrived. Apparently it was horror month at the Swedish label, because with the eerie Joshua, the zany The Cottage and Conde's duo package, the 5th horror/thriller score of seven releases has seen the light of day at MovieScore Media. Just when you thought the tiredness would take over your interest, they release J-ok'el.
George Shaw's work is simply put beautiful and exciting. I love it when scores build up to a finale, delivering each time something new, something extra, something fresh. J-ok'el builds to that something extra. It starts soft and nicely, it builds with beautiful emotional and stirring music towards a darker sinister base. It never loses the thematic cohesiveness and it offers some thematic suspense and frenetic stingers. Finally it reaches its crescendo and then it ends with the emotional thematic credits. Or ... how basically any album should be like.
The score starts quieter than I expected, and with quiet I mean non-horror wise. The brassy main theme with ethnic influences, solo vocal and percussive means sets the mood down in "The Legend of La Llorona" and a brief dark fanfare only hints at the horror to come. But in the following tracks there is no indication that this is a horror tale. The theme returns with strings in "Journey to Mexico" while it creeps mysteriously further in "Nocturnal Abduction".
I never dreamed to face such emotional stunners like "Missing Child", "The Weeping Woman" and the absolute knock-out "Prayers for the Missing". It is an elegiac piece for strings and it definitely is one of the finest emotional pieces I've come across this year.
The other aspect of the album's entertaining value is how melodic the action pieces are. I love stings and blasts of the orchestra, but you can do it differently as well. "Market Chase" keeps it a little bit slower of pace, more hinted on the danger with the theme working as a suspense motif, fuelling the piece in the first two minutes with an accessible sound.
The eerie scary "Siblings Snatched", the emotional theme in "He Left Me", the pumping atonality in "Kids in the Dark", it all leads to the terrific orchestral pieces "Fernando is Taken" and "It's J-ok'el. Yet the most surprising aspect of the entire score is perhaps the theme that unfolds itself in "The Search". Namely the Ark theme of John Williams' Raiders of the Lost Ark, infusing the cue with a mysterious epic tone.
Yet it are the final three cues that make J-ok'el the beloved album I find it today. "Cavern Confrontation" holds the whirling action of the main theme and the relieving emotional value of the emotional theme. In "Cemetery" the solo vocal soon gives away an exciting orchestral finale that makes "End Credits" even more beloved, due to its return of the Ark and emotional theme.
And while on the subject matter, MovieScore Media continues to throw in bonuses. This time Marcus, by the same composer. Marcus was previously only available through download and now it gives some more insight on Shaw's musical voice. The actual theme that is heard in some of the tracks is quite nice, especially in "Main Titles". "Bloodbath", "Brooke Comes To" and "Stabbed in the Neck" are more dramatically dark and eerie, while the attacking version of the theme on violin is a great way to express "First Punch". The suspenseful "Seizure" leads to a brilliant emotional roller coaster of feelings (I sensed a feeling like this before when I heard Brainstorm of James Horner) and "Carol of Death" is a brilliant inventive version of the Christmas carol (Carol of the Bells), embodied in the main theme and tone of the score. What a brilliant way to end this soundtrack.
When I have multiple scores upon a single CD, I usually pick the middle between both ratings. But when a score surprises me so much, why bother and neglect the obvious? J-ok'el is one hell of a score. This is why MovieScore Media is the praised label they are now today. Because they offer music that should be heard. Every label holds a catalogue of strong, average and weaker albums. But J-ok'el / Marcus is so far definitely one of their crowning achievements yet. Because it holds a strong line of development, and because it brings us music that surprises me still after all these years. It warrants that there is still hope for the film music in the future. If you want only the best of MovieScore Media, J-ok'el / Marcus is a guaranteed hit. Alongside George of the Dragon, it is an album I love returning to time and time again.
Tracklisting
Jok'el
1. The Legend of La Llorona (2.21)
2. Journey to Mexico (2.31)
3. Carolina Apparition (0.48)
4. Nocturnal Abduction (1.15)
5. Missing Child (0.45)
6. The Weeping Woman (1.48)
7. Prayers for the Missing (3.24) Excellent track
8. Scaredy Dog (0.15)
9. Market Chase (3.25)
10. Siblings Snatched (1.30)
11. He Left Me (1.41)
12. Kids in the Dark (1.05)
13. Flashlight Clue (0.57)
14. Now you will See (0.42)
15. Mistaken Identity (1.56)
16. Fernando Taken (1.27) Excellent track
17. It's Jok'el (1.41)
18. The Search (4.03)
19. Cavern Confrontation (4.28) Excellent track
20. Cemetery (3.19) Excellent track
21. End Credits (2.56) Excellent track
Marcus
22. Main Titles (2.32)
23. Brooke, I'm Home (2.26)
24. Bloodbath (2.08)
25. Brooke Comes To (2.19)
26. Stabbed in the Neck (2.03)
27. Nose Bleed (0.54)
28. First Punch (1.03)
29. Seizure (2.43) Excellent track
30. Carol of Death (4.38) Excellent track
Total Length: 63.17
George Shaw's work is simply put beautiful and exciting. I love it when scores build up to a finale, delivering each time something new, something extra, something fresh. J-ok'el builds to that something extra. It starts soft and nicely, it builds with beautiful emotional and stirring music towards a darker sinister base. It never loses the thematic cohesiveness and it offers some thematic suspense and frenetic stingers. Finally it reaches its crescendo and then it ends with the emotional thematic credits. Or ... how basically any album should be like.
The score starts quieter than I expected, and with quiet I mean non-horror wise. The brassy main theme with ethnic influences, solo vocal and percussive means sets the mood down in "The Legend of La Llorona" and a brief dark fanfare only hints at the horror to come. But in the following tracks there is no indication that this is a horror tale. The theme returns with strings in "Journey to Mexico" while it creeps mysteriously further in "Nocturnal Abduction".
I never dreamed to face such emotional stunners like "Missing Child", "The Weeping Woman" and the absolute knock-out "Prayers for the Missing". It is an elegiac piece for strings and it definitely is one of the finest emotional pieces I've come across this year.
The other aspect of the album's entertaining value is how melodic the action pieces are. I love stings and blasts of the orchestra, but you can do it differently as well. "Market Chase" keeps it a little bit slower of pace, more hinted on the danger with the theme working as a suspense motif, fuelling the piece in the first two minutes with an accessible sound.
The eerie scary "Siblings Snatched", the emotional theme in "He Left Me", the pumping atonality in "Kids in the Dark", it all leads to the terrific orchestral pieces "Fernando is Taken" and "It's J-ok'el. Yet the most surprising aspect of the entire score is perhaps the theme that unfolds itself in "The Search". Namely the Ark theme of John Williams' Raiders of the Lost Ark, infusing the cue with a mysterious epic tone.
Yet it are the final three cues that make J-ok'el the beloved album I find it today. "Cavern Confrontation" holds the whirling action of the main theme and the relieving emotional value of the emotional theme. In "Cemetery" the solo vocal soon gives away an exciting orchestral finale that makes "End Credits" even more beloved, due to its return of the Ark and emotional theme.
And while on the subject matter, MovieScore Media continues to throw in bonuses. This time Marcus, by the same composer. Marcus was previously only available through download and now it gives some more insight on Shaw's musical voice. The actual theme that is heard in some of the tracks is quite nice, especially in "Main Titles". "Bloodbath", "Brooke Comes To" and "Stabbed in the Neck" are more dramatically dark and eerie, while the attacking version of the theme on violin is a great way to express "First Punch". The suspenseful "Seizure" leads to a brilliant emotional roller coaster of feelings (I sensed a feeling like this before when I heard Brainstorm of James Horner) and "Carol of Death" is a brilliant inventive version of the Christmas carol (Carol of the Bells), embodied in the main theme and tone of the score. What a brilliant way to end this soundtrack.
When I have multiple scores upon a single CD, I usually pick the middle between both ratings. But when a score surprises me so much, why bother and neglect the obvious? J-ok'el is one hell of a score. This is why MovieScore Media is the praised label they are now today. Because they offer music that should be heard. Every label holds a catalogue of strong, average and weaker albums. But J-ok'el / Marcus is so far definitely one of their crowning achievements yet. Because it holds a strong line of development, and because it brings us music that surprises me still after all these years. It warrants that there is still hope for the film music in the future. If you want only the best of MovieScore Media, J-ok'el / Marcus is a guaranteed hit. Alongside George of the Dragon, it is an album I love returning to time and time again.
Tracklisting
Jok'el
1. The Legend of La Llorona (2.21)
2. Journey to Mexico (2.31)
3. Carolina Apparition (0.48)
4. Nocturnal Abduction (1.15)
5. Missing Child (0.45)
6. The Weeping Woman (1.48)
7. Prayers for the Missing (3.24) Excellent track
8. Scaredy Dog (0.15)
9. Market Chase (3.25)
10. Siblings Snatched (1.30)
11. He Left Me (1.41)
12. Kids in the Dark (1.05)
13. Flashlight Clue (0.57)
14. Now you will See (0.42)
15. Mistaken Identity (1.56)
16. Fernando Taken (1.27) Excellent track
17. It's Jok'el (1.41)
18. The Search (4.03)
19. Cavern Confrontation (4.28) Excellent track
20. Cemetery (3.19) Excellent track
21. End Credits (2.56) Excellent track
Marcus
22. Main Titles (2.32)
23. Brooke, I'm Home (2.26)
24. Bloodbath (2.08)
25. Brooke Comes To (2.19)
26. Stabbed in the Neck (2.03)
27. Nose Bleed (0.54)
28. First Punch (1.03)
29. Seizure (2.43) Excellent track
30. Carol of Death (4.38) Excellent track
Total Length: 63.17