I feel that, before I continue with this review, I need to state for the record that I am no fan of the Twilight books or films. No thank you. I prefer my vampires photosensitive and iconophobic, not twinkly tree-huggers.
Now that I’ve got that out of the way, I will confess (and proudly!) that I am a fan of the soundtracks to the films, as they avoid both bubblegum pop and overdone gothic dirges.
The Eclipse soundtrack follows in the footsteps of bothTwilight and New Moon, showcasing music that is edgy, often from bands or artists that I’d think of as more “niche” listening, but always accessible.
As to be expected, Ms Meyer’s favourite band, Muse, have contributed a song to the album. Neutron Star Collision is desperate, dramatic, oh so very Muse and oh so very good. Florence + the Machine’s Heavy in Your Arms is, without a doubt, my favourite track on this soundtrack, tense, powerful and strangely tender.
Fanfarlo’s even-paced Atlas has made me determined to seek out more of their work, and The Dead Weather’s darkly atmospheric Rolling in on a Burning Tire suits the story’s theme perfectly.
Beck and Bat for Lashes’ Let’s Get Lost makes for one of the more interesting collaborations I’ve heard in a while, and I love the aptly-named Vampire Weekend’s Jonathan Low (but then, I love Vampire Weekend, so I am biased with this one – a New York based band with an unashamedly South African influence… Come on, what’s not to love?).
I enjoyed the Eclipse soundtrack as much as (if not more than) the previous two Twilight albums. The music’s always good and always interesting, and if there’s one good thing that comes out of Twilight (if not the fact that it’s got many young people who otherwise might not have picked up a book reading again), it’s the brilliant showcasing of music that we might not have heard, were it not for these incredible soundtracks. You don’t need to be a Twihard to enjoy the Eclipse soundtrack. You simply need to be able to appreciate good music, because that’s what you’re getting.
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