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.
Background In May 2016, it was reported that Australian musicians Nick Cave and Warren Ellis would compose music for the film. The duo met the film's director, David 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. 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."
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. The soundtrack was released through Milan Records on August 12, 2016. A music video for the song "Comancheria" was unveiled in late-September 2016.
Critical reception Adam Fleet of The Guardian described the score as "excellent". 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". Jimi Famurewa of Empire described it as "typically foreboding". 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." Calling it as a "predictably strong element", Charles Gant of Screen Daily called it as "initially plaintive, progressively more throbbing". Eric Kohn of IndieWire wrote "the twangy score by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis keeps the pace moving at a vibrant clip".
Track listing
Chart performance +Chart performance for Hell or High Water (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) Chart (2016) Peakposition UK Country Artists Albums (OCC) 3 UK Soundtrack Albums (OCC) 12 US Top Soundtracks (Billboard) 18
Accolades +Accolades for Hell or High Water (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) Award Date of ceremony Category Recipient(s) Result Austin Film Critics AssociationDecember 28, 2016 Best Score and Warren Ellis San Diego Film Critics SocietyDecember 12, 2016 Best Original Score San Francisco Film Critics CircleDecember 11, 2016 Best Original Score
References