The Bye Bye Man
Released by Sony Classical, 2016
34 Tracks, with a Total Running Time of 76 min.
Music by The Newton Brothers

This is one somber score. This is not one to put on when you want to get motivated, that is for sure. If you’re looking for one that will slowly take you down a dark and gloomy path, filling your ears with quiet and peaceful sounds…until you start to feel something sinister creeping into your thoughts, then here you go.

With a score running well over an hour, The Newton Brothers have created a very long and mysterious soundtrack here filled with not just noises but bit and pieces of feelings. There are strings that seem to get louder, with a screeching starting to come through, then settling back down to a low rumble. Strings soothingly in the background, only to burst forth with something loud and fast to catch you off guard. My only complaint would be there is no constant melody, or at least not a common one that is more prominent. But the eeriness of the different sounds that we get make up for that, or at least keep your mind wandering through this audio soundscape. Track # 10, The Gloomsinger, is a perfect example of this.

The Newton Brothers have created a very unique and interesting score here and is one that would be great for Halloween parties to be playing in the background, setting up the perfect mood for a gathering of dark souls. It’s not pronounced enough to draw too much attention to itself, but will slowly infect the ears of the listener. Which I’m sure is what it does in the film The Bye Bye Man.