A Lonely Place to Die

This is a dramatic and exhilarating sounding score, certainly full of tense and nervous passages and also big expansive and expressive flourishes throughout. It also has its quieter and more intimate sounding interludes which are tender but in a bittersweet fashion. The composer wrote an impressive soundtrack for the war movie AGE OF HEROES earlier this year and has continued to produce interesting and innovative music for this production also. Fully symphonic with assistance from synthetic areas and additional percussion the composer has masterfully fused the two sources and seamlessly combined them to compliment and support each other in a score that hits all the right spots and pushes all the correct buttons. In many ways Plowman’s style, sound and approach to scoring reminds me at times of the late Roy Budd and such scores as WILD GEESE and THE SEA WOLVES, Plowman not only pulls out all the stops with vigorous and robust action cues he also invents haunting and delightful musical poems that intertwine and bind the work together, very much in the same way as Budd used to when working in film. This type of scoring can be heard in Track number 7, LONELY STUDY which commences with high and melodious string cascades that rise and fall to create a rich and colourful resonance that is a joy to hear, whilst at the same time enhance and serve the picture well. Track 9. HIDE AND SEEK is a brilliantly driving piece, the composer utilises thundering percussion which is punctuated and supported by strings who are themselves embellished and bolstered by the use of electronics to create a taught and tension filled composition. Track 11, BOAR AND THE BULLET is also a full on action cue, again electronic sounds fuse with that of symphonic’s to create a high octane sound, fierce brass stabs are underlined by growling electronic sound design and further driven on by the edgy sounding strings and powerful percussion until the track reaches its frenzied and vibrant crescendo. I can do nothing else but recommend that you purchase this compact disc, it will I know become a favourite and also be a rich and welcome addition to any soundtrack collection.