The Wind (2018)
Released by Lakeshore Records
32 Tracks with a Total Running time of 64 min.
Music by Ben Lovett

Within the first note, it feels like composer Lovett went old school for this score. Since the film takes place in the old west, the first sound we hear is strings, from a violin or cello (I’m a music fan, but not an expert!), that sets the mood. In the film, we get a sense of wide open plains with nothing out there for as long as you can see, and Lovett brings that feeling through with this music.

I was surprised at some of the more faster tempos on some of the tracks, like #2 Demons of the Prairie, but he still using the strings, along with some percussions to keep that tension raised. Then when you get to tracks like # 6, We Shall Be Monsters, we get more of a quiet sound, with some wind instruments in there, as well as strings, creating a creepy mood, as if something is out there in the dark.

We first came across Lovett’s work in the 2007 low budget film The Signal and then more recently with The Ritual (2017). This score isn’t going to win you over by melodies or themes, but for an atmospheric piece that usually stays on the somber side, pounding up the tempo occasionally, it works well on its own. And even more so in the film itself, which I had seen before reviewing this score.