Hell or High Water (soundtrack)

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Hell or High Water (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Hell or High Water (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack).jpg
Soundtrack album by
Nick Cave, Warren Ellis and various artists
ReleasedAugust 12, 2016
Genre
Length43:29
Label Milan
Producer
Nick Cave and Warren Ellis chronology
Far from Men
(2015)
Hell or High Water
(2016)
War Machine
(2017)

Hell or High Water (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is the soundtrack to the 2016 film Hell or High Water. The soundtrack featured original score composed by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis, and songs from country musicians. It was released through Milan Records on August 12, 2016.

Contents

Background

On May 2016, it was reported that Australian musicians Nick Cave and Warren Ellis would compose music for the film. [1] [2] The duo met Mackenzie at the Retreat Studio in Brighton and played few source materials to the latter who liked it and also demanded the music to be "grainy and with grit". The score in its entirety was completed within ten days; five days for scoring and another five days to refine and string overdubs. [3] Mackenzie recalled that "What I love about Nick and Warren’s film music is that it’s epic and expansive without being grandiose. For me as a filmmaker this hits a sweet spot where the score is able to have scale and emotion but not feel manipulative or overwhelming." [4]

Besides Cave and Ellis' score, the album featured contributions from Townes Van Zandt, Ray Wylie Hubbard, Waylon Jennings, Colter Wall, Scott H. Biram and Chris Stapleton. [5] [6] The soundtrack was released through Milan Records on August 12, 2016. [7] A music video for the song "Comancheria" was unveiled in late-September 2016. [8]

Track listing

No.TitleArtist(s)Length
1."Comancheria"2:05
2."Dollar Bill Blues" Townes Van Zandt 3:01
3."Mama's Room"
  • Cave
  • Ellis
2:49
4."Dust of the Chase" Ray Wylie Hubbard 5:05
5."Texas Midlands"
  • Cave
  • Ellis
2:02
6."Robbery"
  • Cave
  • Ellis
3:26
7."You Ask Me To" Waylon Jennings 2:29
8."Mountain Lion Mean"
  • Cave
  • Ellis
2:07
9."Sleeping on the Backtop" Colter Wall 3:12
10."From My Cold Dead Hands"
  • Cave
  • Ellis
2:30
11."Lord of the Plains"
  • Cave
  • Ellis
2:35
12."Blood, Sweat and Murder" Scott H. Biram 2:54
13."Casino"
  • Cave
  • Ellis
1:50
14."Comancheria II"
  • Cave
  • Ellis
1:49
15."Outlaw State of Mind" Chris Stapleton 5:35
Total length:43:29

Reception

Adam Fleet of The Guardian described the score as "excellent". [9] Music critic Jonathan Broxton wrote "Cave and Ellis’s score speaks to those emotions with a series of dour, gloomy instrumentals which take several of the familiar western musical tropes, bring them into the 21st century, and offer them as a depiction of a decaying way of life. Fans of their scores for other western films may find it to be an interesting diversion, and fans of Cave’s similarly-toned rock songs may find themselves wallowing in this wordless variation on his patented melancholy. For others, and although it suits the film perfectly, the lack of any recurring melodic content, and the constant depiction of one single miserable emotion, will likely leave you bored, depressed, or both." [10]

David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter wrote that Cave and Ellis' "somber" score "has often served as an expressive bridge between the Old and New West". [11] Jimi Famurewa of Empire described it as "typically foreboding". [12] David Edelstein of Vulture wrote "The score, by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis, is free-floating in its sadness. It conjures up a mood — gorgeously — not a meaning." [13] Calling it as a "predictably strong element", Charles Gant of Screen Daily called it as "initially plaintive, progressively more throbbing". [14] Eric Kohn of IndieWire wrote "the twangy score by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis keeps the pace moving at a vibrant clip". [15]

Chart performance

Chart (2016)Peak
position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders) [16] 134
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia) [17] 162
UK Country Artists Albums (OCC) [18] 3
UK Soundtrack Albums (OCC) [19] 12
US Top Soundtracks ( Billboard ) [20] 18

Accolades

AwardDate of ceremonyCategoryRecipient(s)ResultRef.
Austin Film Critics Association December 28, 2016 Best Score Nick Cave and Warren Ellis Nominated [21]
[22]
San Diego Film Critics Society December 12, 2016 Best Original ScoreNominated [23]
[24]
San Francisco Film Critics Circle December 11, 2016 Best Original ScoreNominated [25]
[26]

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References

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