Killing Eve: Seasons 1 & 2 [Original Series Soundtrack] [Slipcase] by Various Artists (CD)

Heavenly

5400863020200

20050171867

Various Artists, Etienne Daho, Pati Amor

CD

Killing Eve: Seasons 1 & 2 [Original Series Soundtrack] [Slipcase]

147 mins 21 seconds

Soundtracks & Musicals

Personnel: Jade Vincent (vocals); Emre Ramazanoglu (drums). Audio Mixer: Tristin Norwell. Liner Note Authors: David Holmes; Catherine Grieves. Recording information: DRAMA, Hoxa, London. Along with its subversively feminist wit and Jodie Comer's and Sandra Oh's committed performances, Killing Eve's flawless music makes the series stand out from the rest of the Peak TV pack. Killing Eve: Seasons 1 & 2 [Original Series Soundtrack] is dominated by the work of Unloved, the trio of vocalist/songwriter Jade Vincent and producers/composers Keefus Ciancia and David Holmes. Though Unloved began working on most of these songs years before Killing Eve went into production (and many of them appeared on the albums Guilty of Love and Heartbreak), their seductive, volatile mix of mid-20th century pop and atmospheric electronics feels like it was tailor-made to express the state of mind of Comer's Villanelle, the series' flirtatious, startlingly witty psychopathic assassin. "Sigh"'s lurching strings punctuated many of the show's outlandish twists, of which there were plenty; on "Crash Boom Bang," even disaster seems glamorous. Unloved revel in a particularly feminine kind of malice on "Devil's Angels," where Vincent's snarls and purrs ride atop a beat made from a revving engine. Just as Villanelle bends reality to her own liking, Unloved's music blurs eras and genres so thoroughly that it becomes its own thing. With not one, but two seasoned producers in their fold, they deliver sonic thrills such as "Fail We May Sail We Must," a combination of phasing effects that still sound as unearthly as they did on Toni Fisher's 1959 hit "The Big Hurt" and elements of industrial and electronic music from nearly half a century later. Alongside these flamboyant and ever so slightly deranged tracks are genuinely haunting moments like the eerie "Tell Mama" and "Her," a hushed echo of the show's queerness. The songs that aren't by Unloved are just as faithful to the soundtrack's distinctive mood. One of the show's other signature tracks, Pshycotic Beats' "Killer Shangri-Lah," takes the death wishes of early-'60s pop to extremes, while Cat's Eyes' "Girl in the Room" and Étienne Daho's "Voodoo Voodoo" uphold the feeling of stylish romance and menace. On the other hand, Cigarettes After Sex's "Opera House" is a genuine expression of heartache that shows how easily Killing Eve shifts emotional gears. The deeper cuts, which include Anna Karina's 1967 Serge Gainsbourg collaboration "Roller Girl," Ramases' sneering psych stomper "Screw You," and the Poppy Family's enduringly creepy "Where Evil Grows" give the soundtrack the depth of a handcrafted mix, reinforcing the feeling that nothing about this show or its music is routine. Like Twin Peaks and other legendary TV soundtracks before it, Killing Eve: Seasons 1 & 2 [Original Series Soundtrack] excels at creating an unmistakable, unforgettable world of its own. ~ Heather Phares

Stereo

2

USA