January 19, 2010

  • Review: Legion (Frizzell)

    Perhaps one of the most arresting images, due to its use in the film’s trailer, for Legion is an unassuming grandmotherly person who suddenly jumps up and runs across the wall and ceiling of a small diner.  It is in this small diner where a group of unlikely people are the first line of defense when God decides the human race is not worthy of existence.  The group finds an ally in the archangel Michael and the war begins.  John Frizzell, no stranger to finding an appropriate voice for action and horror thrillers provides the score presented here on La La Land Records.

    Frizzell crafts a dark and exciting score.  The orchestration is limited to low strings and brass which lends the music an appropriately dark quality.  Thematic lines gain a warmer quality in this texture when they are given more lyrical qualities (something which appears beautifully in “Old and Pissed Off”) with piano set against strings.  Action sequences are given their due as well with odd sounds layered into the sound mix in a more balanced way so that we hear them as “instruments” in the ensemble and not just design elements.  There are ambient design moments in the score (the first in “This is Not a Test”) which are among the more experimental sounding tracks.  Frizzell’s score though is a perfect mix of these design elements with great action cues.  The cues work because he crafts them around important motives that are derived from thematic material allowing these to build or be deconstructed as the music plays along.  Occasionally, the music will break down entirely into a more aleatoric clash of dissonance and sound design.

    The opening half of the disc features a quick series of minute-or-so cues that run through the various materials of the score.  The sequencing makes for a perfect dramatic listen on its own that never overstays its welcome due to the alternation of design and traditional musical elements.  One particular idea that Frizzell introduces in this score is something he calls “frozen sounds.”  Described in the accompanying booklet, the composer explains that these sounds are taken from different instruments and processed with audio software.   Each sound is stretched from its one- or two- second length into thirty seconds or more.  The result is truly fascinating but so well integrated that it never seems gimmicky.  The results are a hybrid of electronic and “human” sounds that allow him to create more expressive music.  These are on display effectively in “Percy’s Story.”  He also pointedly notes that a lot of the supportive material was written to work around the dialogue spoken b y Paul Bettany (no dialogue is on the disc) which Frizzell approached as another instrument.  This highly integrated approach to music, sound, and even dialogue will make hearing the score in the film’s context important for understanding how this technique works.

    Legion’s music, when all is said and done, is a thriller score with supernatural elements and plenty of action sequences that build towards the film’s climax.  The wordless choral musical and spoken sounds lend a depth of seriousness to the music while the strings buzz away underneath ratcheting up the exciting thrust of the music.  The musical material for Michael (appearing first in “Michael Descends”) allows the score to have a thread that holds the music together even if it is not one of those traditional movie themes.  There are enough lyrical pauses in the sequence of tracks that also make the disc far more enjoyable on its own. 

    The disc closes with an alternate version of “You Are the Protector” which follows its film version—both fitting codas to an interesting and engaging musical journey.  Legion will be a treat for fans of Frizzell and those interested in how well-crafted music blending traditional and electronic sounds can be.  Clips can be heard at the label’s website: http://www.lalalandrecords.com/Legion.html.