Mike Patton – The Place Beyond the Pines OST

From Faith No More to Fantômas, Tomahawk to “pop” project Peeping Tom and of course the gleefully experimental Mr Bungle, Mike Patton’s restless creativity is far too big for one band. And for Derek Cianfrance's latest drama, he continues his fledgling career as soundtrack composer. 

A triptych of interconnected crime stories that ask questions of whether we can ever escape our family history, The Place Beyond the Pines is a thinker of a movie – and Patton has provided it with a suitably cerebral backdrop. Evoking dread, longing and, above all, loneliness with its spare arrangements, he evokes the great Ennio Morricone.

Like his hero, Patton has a superb grasp of the emotional impact of music and knows when to employ it subtly. This is not a traditional big orchestral punch of a score, rather Patton uses a combination of electronic tones, electric and acoustic guitar accents, and a sampled choir to build an eerie and affecting soundscape. 

At the heart of the film – played more than once over its beautiful tracking shots of forlorn bikers riding through tall trees, The Snow Angel is as close as we come to a traditional theme. Its icy piano refrain is graceful but holds back from the expected crescendo and payoff. Like the movie, the music won’t let you off so easily.