The House on Carroll Street

Georges Delerue

 
" A little lackluster if you compare it with others "

Written by Thomas Glorieux - Review of the limited release

The House on Carroll Street is one of Delerue's peculiar projects. Peculiar in the way it's not your typical warm and lovely score. The thriller esque movie features instead a light noire score full of sombre dark alley music, subtle jazz and occasional suspense. Sadly all this suspense isn't all that riveting, not like say scores we heard in this genre before (L.A. Confidential), so don't expect powerful action suspense here. In fact it's hardly there and extremely brief ("The Bookstore" or "Elevators"). The subtle dramatic music is nice, but again a little soft if one's comparing with the many fine examples of Delerue's career. Of course subtle doesn't mean bad, and cues such as "Emily and Cochran" and "Comforting Emily" are satisfying nonetheless. "End Titles" could even be considered the best, the one that comes closest to the dramatic style of Delerue. Sadly it doesn't take away that The House on Carroll Street feels a bit too restrained for me. Never does the suspense kick into second gear, never does the drama become overtly emotional. It's all handled with care and detail, but misses the spunk or the drama to elevate it. It's an okay listen, but something tells me Delerue didn't have the feeling to handle this kind of genre. Too bad considering the rarity of the project.

The drama is nice, though lacking something.
The brief moments Delerue unleashes suspense, it forgets to bring the excitement.
You remain hungry after this, it lacks some spunk here and there.

Track Listing

1. Main Title (2.39)
2. The Cemetery (2.19)
3. The Bookstore (1.29)
4. Hide and Seek (1.52)
5. Emily and Cochran (2.48)
6. The Bath (2.01)
7. You're Tender (3.01)
8. Break-In (2.40)
9. Comforting Emily (5.08)
10. Elevators (1.17)
11. Salwen's Downfall (3.59)
12. End Titles (2.38)
13. 21 Club (2.57)
14. Piano Practice (2.07)

Total Length: 36.55
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Released by

Music Box Records MBR-019 (limited release 2012)

Conducted by

Georges Delerue