I've told you recently about the influence Pantera's album VULGAR DISPLAY OF POWER had over my life. This kind of moment just happens, you can't chase it. It'll dawn upon you like the hand of God and steer you in a different direction. I call that ''being visited by the muse'' and when the muse knocks you better answer or pray she comes back to grace you ungrateful ass. I had one of these moments recently when watching the first trailer for season two of TRUE DETECTIVE. Without every knowing what it's about, the lyrics, the haunting atmosphere of the song and the images of the trailer really struck a chord with my imaginary. so I decided to obey the muse and keep up with the weekly release of soundtrack titles and here are my thoughts on the entire thing.
If you followed the series, you're already familiar with the gloomy bar singer. She's a real country/folk artist named Lera Lynn and she has five song on the soundtrack, including The Only Thing Worth Fighting For, featured in the aforementioned trailer. I think the song stands out from the other performed by Lynn because of the gothic imagery of the lyrics. They were written by Johnny Cash's daughter Roseanne, who's a successful country/folk singer of her own right. She's a chip off the old block when it comes to songwriting. Not everyone will be moved by lyrics such as: ''Wandering through these empty rooms of dusty books and quiet dreams,'' but it hits right home for me.
Of course, Lera Lynn has other great songs on the soundtrack. They all define themselves by their lyrical approach because the arrangements are minimal and rather similar. Quiet, twanging electric guitar. Lately, that aired during the finale stands out from the pack because of its more aggressive musical approach. It's a more tense and rock n' roll influenced than bluesy and melancholic like the others and therefore more memorable. Speaking of melancholic and gloomy, I thought My Least Favorite Life and to a certain extent A Church in Ruins went a bit overboard into melodrama and I got bored of them quite quick. Lera Lynn clearly was the voice of TRUE DETECTIVE, Season 2 and like the show she had moments of great intensity and others of blatant overdelivery.
That song's in the show, but you probably won't recognize it.
The most pleasant surprise on the True Detective Soundtrack probably is Nick Cave and Warren Ellis' cover of the Gatlin' Brothers' All the Gold in California. It's a throwback song to the post-punk era of The Bad Seeds. Cave and Ellis really made the song theirs and offered a new perspective on Larry Gatlin's terrific lyrics. Nick Cave fans need to give it at least a spin. Otherwise, I really liked Bonnie ''Prince'' Billy's song Intentional Injury. The aerial feeling of the guitar/drums arrangements, Billy's angelic voice and the utterly terrifying lyrics I thought reflected the atmosphere of the show better than perhaps any other song on the album. There's a lot of great songs on the True Detective Soundtrack, but perhaps none as precise and vivid as Intentional Injury.
I'm aware I didn't discuss half of the songs on the record. To be honest, they didn't move the needle all that much. I wouldn't say they were irritating or anything like that, in fact the most irritating song on the record would be My Least Favorite Life. Songs like The Angry River and Sign of the Judgment for example were little more than background noise to me, even when I focused on them. Every record has to have its dose of filler material. The True Detective Soundtrack was at the image of the series: it had its moments of intensity and was overall a lot of fun despite drawing outside the lines at times and struggling with a couple inconsistencies. It's a great release for the iTunes era as I don't suggested you download every song, but All the Gold in California, The Only Thing Worth Fighting For, Lately and Intentional Injury are great additions to any playlists you might run.
