Thoroughbreds
Original Motion Picture Soundtrack by Mondo Tees
The great thing about the movie soundtrack vinyl revolution (for lack of a better word) is that it’s not just allowing for the appreciation of an underrated art form and the reissue of long forgotten music, but also that it’s given the small guys a chance. Maybe no movie deserved the title of underdog last year more than Thoroughbreds, which was ambitious, dark, hilarious, and tragically underrated. And who would have guessed that such a movie would go recognized as far as vinyl soundtracks are concerned?
There’s an immediate appeal to this movie from the look alone. Thoroughbreds looks meticulously shot with Wes Anderson-esque attention to detail. It’s a perfect depiction of the prim, proper, and sterile environment that these two protagonists live in, and are trying to break out of. The gorgeous exterior houses a deranged soul. Then there’s the tone of the movie which is so serious that it’s funny. No spoilers here, but there’s a certain task these two girls set out to do, and they have different motivations for doing it. Olivia Cooke and Anya Taylor-Joy have an unexpected chemistry when they cut the bullshit and get down to business, and they’re perfect compliments for each other: one’s the judiciary, one’s the executive. There’s not a moment where we as an audience think these girls are actually going to pull it off, but here we are in awe of the sheer confidence driving them. Like any good movie, Thoroughbreds is a movie that demands immediate discussion and dissection as viewers will want to confirm what they just saw.
Definitely fitting in with the odd elements of this movie is its soundtrack. I will go on a limb and say that Erik Friedlander’s score almost belongs in Apocalypse Now, with its strange use of vocal chants and soaring drums. We can literally hear the primal instincts in Amanda and Lily as they plot against their enemies when the score slithers with its strings. This is contrasted with the various bands also adorning the soundtrack like the sugary sweet anthems of The Sweet Hurt and Tanis and the EDM of A Tribe Called Red. The soundtrack sucks you in with its superficial beauty only to disturb you just when you start getting comfortable with it.
The vinyl from Mondo gets right to the point, with a package that’s almost as sterile and prim as the movie itself. It’s on gorgeous “checkered pattern” vinyl (the first of its kind in my collection) and a gatefold sleeve with beautiful original artwork by . The whole thing is certainly as strange and unique as the movie itself. Pretty damn nifty, if you ask me.
Get it here from Mondo.
