Album Details

• Artist: Nick Cave And Warren Ellis
• Album: The Road: Original Film Score
• Label: Mute
• Year of Release: 2010
• ME Rating:
• Reviewed by: patchen on 2010-02-23

If you have seen "The Road," the post-apocalyptic downer based on the novel by Rhode Island's own Cormac McCarthy, then you know how integral and evocative was the soundtrack by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis. If not, and you imagine the music to be downcast, moody and poignant, skip the movie and let this set take you into your own prophetic visions of the end.

Haunting and spare, the misty minimalism of the score stands on its own. The aching of "Home," "Water and Ash," and "the Mother" are emotionally devastating, with no need for visuals or lyrics.

Cave and Ellis weave an impossibly open and expansive soundscape, but it is as claustrophobic as it is broad. You feel the essence of the spaces described in "The House," "The Church," and get a sense of dread and hope on "The Far Road" and "The Journey." 

That a music can be barren and still point to love as a way out of despair is the triumph of this soundtrack. Like the movie upon which it is based, "The Road" is a difficult but deep look at fears, choices and memories. Nick Cave and Warren Ellis, who have collaborated less successfully on past film scores,  here spare no expense on delivering the goods.

User Reviews and Comments

on 2010-06-18 SolitaryMan Said:

Awesome movie, totally fitting and enjoyable soundtrack as well. For a fully engrossing experience, read the book the film is based on while listening to the soundtrack. It all comes together quite nicely.
Rating: 8/10