Search - Cliff Martinez :: The Limey

Modern film scores have increasingly drawn music from more than a single source or composer. But it's the rare soundtrack collection that manages to balance those elements with any credibility. In that regard, director Steven Soderbergh's The Limey may set a new standard. Countering a brief slate of '60s and '70s rock chestnuts (like the Who's "The Seeker," the Hollies' "King Midas in Reverse," the Byrds' "It Happens Each Day," and Boston's "Smokin'") are the score's real gems, from Black Grape founder Danny Saber and longtime Soderbergh collaborator Cliff Martinez. Saber's hip, club friendly "Party Sequence" tracks are modern mix heavy, if not overwrought, employing a smart brew of sampled beats, sinewy synth, nicked riffs, and jazzy bass and keys that simultaneously evoke any number of hipster eras. Providing the film's true musical personality is Martinez's orchestral work, as moody and minimalist as it is inventive, with brooding strings set against spare piano and unusual percussive effects. Like his contemporary Thomas Newman, Martinez has gradually reshaped the art of orchestral film scoring, suffusing its hoary traditions with fresh, tasteful studio technique and restless, determined sonic exploration. --Jerry McCulley