Stephenie Meyer’s “Twilight” saga continues to suck fans in by any medium possible. Successfully interweaving artists from across the alt/indie-rock genre, New Moon fulfills the hype as the most anticipated soundtrack of the year. New Moon offers a reliable lineup including well-known names such as Death Cab For a Cutie, The Killers, Muse, Bon Iver and Black Rebel Motorcycle Club — just to mention a few. The familiarity of stated artists will be sure to pave an easy path for the arguably lesser-known artists toward newfound obsessions.
Following the trend of the previous “Twilight” soundtrack, New Moon includes a healthy collection of off-kilter and left of center artists. The rush of finding “that new band” in 2004’s “Garden State’s” soundtrack will be re-experienced by both avid fans of the “Twilight” series and the apathetic or those apathetic to vampire literature.
However, being depressed in the rain submerged in indie rock music with normal human beings in New Jersey is not enough anymore. New Moon adds elements of the ridiculous and supernatural: vampires, werewolves and the rush of adrenaline, giving our ears the pleasure of hearing some of the best in music apply their interpretations of the supernatural and depression.
On to the artists. The left of center and hipster beloved Grizzly Bear makes an appearance sure to please already loyal fans. With the addition of Beach House singer Victoria Legrand, Grizzly Bear’s ethereal “Slow Life” cascades between simplistic guitar and female vocals then erupts into electronic fairy tale marinated melodies that feel perfectly adapted for this paranormal infused love story.
In the same genre — err… vein — but 10 tracks earlier, the frontman from Radiohead, Thom Yorke, makes an unlikely appearance, featuring his well rehearsed skitter beat-electro-rock. Despite the status of his artistry, he fails to fulfill his reputation and falls by the wayside for the younger generation to rearrange the pieces of the jigsaw puzzle.
The Killers represent something of spectacle, sharing a very close bond with the fad/culture that Twilight has helped create. Both inhabit the awesomeness of contrast — people either love them or love to hate them and sometimes both at the same time. Their New Moon song entitled “A White Demon Love Song” builds from reverberated piano and electronic synthesizer, suggesting tones of the supernatural and then melts into acoustic guitar, horns and pizzicato strings, offering a more human tonal quality. This anthem-like and contrasted composition is sure to filter seamlessly into the depth and meaning of the movie.
Wisconsin native Bon Iver appears in form of duet with artist St. Vincent, both creating an unsurprising, yet beautiful vision of winter through sound. Although applicable to the flow of the soundtrack, this song maintains a timeless quality sure to be found within the depths of many future love-mixes that have nothing to do with sucking blood.
Other surprising tracks worth mentioning are Lykke Li’s “Possibility” and Anya Marina’s “Satellite Heart.”
As a comprehensive piece, New Moon feels like the soundtrack to a drive through the rural and snowy countryside — at times it can be comforting and at others deflating. Each song differs immensely from the next, yet dances along similar themes of lust, loss, depression, insecurity and teen angst. All the melodrama created between main characters Bella, Edward and Jacob as well as the magically injected aspects of surrealism may come across more coherently through the medium of a novel and a movie, but the addition of these tracks will surely help.
4 1/2 stars out of 5.
