Poor Things [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack]

by Jerskin Fendrix

Overview

When film director Yorgos Lanthimos enlisted English musician Jerskin Fendrix (aka Joscelin Dent-Pooley) to write the score for his steampunk body-horror take on the Frankenstein-inspired Poor Things novel by Alasdair Gray, Fendrix had just a smattering of professional music credits under his belt. Seeming to make an impression every step of the way, he was known to some as an up-and-coming experimental pop artist (2020's Winterreise) and to others as a producer and songwriter (Gia Ford, GFOTY), sideman (Black Midi), or budding theater composer (a reportedly memorable London production of Alfred Jarry's Ubu Roi, although it was Winterreise that caught Lanthimos' ear). He made the most of the opportunity to work on Poor Things, as well, garnering an Oscar nomination for what was his film scoring debut. Coming on board early and working only from the film's script and conversations with the director, Fendrix devised a surrealist sound palette that emphasized mechanics (specifically biomechanics) and the movement of air -- woodwinds, pipe organs, uilleann pipes, and vocals including synthesized and manipulated breath samples. Among the other instruments in play are piano, strings, various percussion, MIDI acoustic instruments, and sparing use of synths. More conspicuous to the ear, digital pitch-shifting was heavily employed. The soundtrack begins with the theme for the lead character, "Bella," a wistful, piano-based melody consisting of out-of-tune and bent pitches that help illustrate the character's skewed reality and early struggles to even walk. Distortion is the name of the game on spacious tracks that seem to put all timbres under a magnifying glass while also contorting their appearances, from the plucked strings of "Wee" to the theremin-like vocals and mallet percussion of "Bella and Max," and from the alarm-like tones, pitched screeches, and booming timpani of "Reanimation" to the more orchestral cacophony of "Alexandria" and "Paris." There are a few songlike entries, too, including the Portuguese folksong "O Quatro" by the soundtrack's one guest singer, Carminho, and subsequent warped, accordion-style dances. Taken together, it's a score so well-suited to the story and striking visual style of the film that it's hard to imagine one without the other; having said that, the soundtrack album is perhaps even more impressively intense, sad, and alien on its own. ~ Marcy Donelson

Product Details

Release Date:	05/03/2024
Label:	Waxwork Records
UPC:	0196588629013

Tracks

1. Bella
2. "Wee"
3. Bella and Max
4. "Mother of God"
5. Victoria
6. Reanimation
7. Bella and Duncan
8. "I Just Hope She's Alright"
9. Lisbon
10. O Quarto [Soundtrack Version]
11. Portuguese Dance I
12. Portuguese Dance II
13. "Goodbye Later Dove"
14. Duncan and Martha
15. Alexandria
16. Paris
17. Bella/Les Yeux Bleus/Estore's Song
18. London
19. Alfie
20. Alfie and Victoria
21. Bella, Max and God
22. "Poor Things" Finale and End Credits

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Jerskin Fendrix   Primary Artist,Piano,Violin,Vocals,Synthesizer
Carminho   Primary Artist,Vocals
Rob Farrer   Percussion
Peter Gregson   Cello
Harry Stewart   Vocals
Eliza Marshall   Flute
Lucy Gibson   Bassoon
Ashley Myall   Bassoon
James Turnball   Oboe
Alex Putman   Vocals
Alyson Fraizer   Flute
Anya Doherty   Vocals
Suzy Bemba   Vocals
Caitlin Heathcote   Oboe

Technical Credits

Graeme Stewart   Mixing,Recording
Ian Wilson   Recording
Tamas Devenyi   Recording
Carminho   Composer
Johnnie Burn   Mixing
Liam Hebb   Assistant Engineer
Jerskin Fendrix   Mixing,Composer,Producer,Recording