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The application of the specialty percussion in Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, including taonga puoro, is effective and more integral with the rest of the score than in the 1968 original by Goldsmith. Still, some of Paesano's newly minted action material, as in "For Caeser" and "Cannot Trust a Human," is somewhat anonymous, though a cue like "What a Wonderful Day" is still quite impressively rendered even if coming across as perhaps wayward. Much of the underbelly of quiet suspense in the second half of this score requires close appreciation in ways that the franchise has not always embraced, which is an intriguing shift in dynamic. The thematic tapestry Paesano creates for the narrative is far more cohesive and developed than one might expect, spanning guilty-pleasure statements of grandeur to intelligent deconstructions during more ambient cues. Along with reprising Goldsmith's three most obvious motifs, Paesano anchors his work with three major new identities and a fourth that is a more nebulous representation of evil on all sides of the fight. Headlining the work is his new world theme for the humans and apes exploring their past and future. This idea of discovery is constructed from dramatic, deliberate four-note phrases with shifting underlying harmonies. With no real B phrase to the theme, the composer relies upon those adaptations of harmony to constantly redefine the four cyclical notes. Summarized during most of "Discovery," this main theme is developed fully on strings at 1:39 and massive on brass and choir at 4:15 with glorious tonalities. It's barely hinted prior to the eagle clan theme in "The Climb," hovers in the background of "We Have Good Rain," reduces to solitary oil drum phrasing at the outset of "The Valley Beyond," and quietly stews at 1:08 into "Memories of Home." This new world theme starts with a secondary phrase on woodwinds at the outset of "Caesar's Compassion," explores tentatively on the oil drum in "She is Different," and lightly and carefully opens "They Are Like You" on strings, guiding the chords of the cue thereafter. It diminishes from there, barely cohesive at the outsets of "New Weapon" and "A Past Discovered" while elongating into a more fluid format in the first minute of "It Was Ours" and deliberate shadows on piano early in "We Will Rebuild" before gaining major steam at 2:27, where it is joined by tasteful percussion.

The second theme in Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes exists for the affable eagle clan tribe, and this theme provides the majesty of the score. Sometimes used as nicely romantic secondary phrasing for other ideas with hint of Danny Elfman via Edward Scissorhands, this idea may also remind of the chords from James Newton Howard's Fantastic Beasts love theme. Explored carefully late in "The Climb," this theme is slow and honorable from the ensemble early in "Eagle Clan" and defines much of that cue as another suite-like arrangement. It returns with reverence on light choir and piano in the second minute of "Noa's Purpose" and shines again in "Memories of Home," where it is repetitive on piano over hints of the main theme and erupts into a magnificent choral moment mid-cue. The theme suggests its return at 0:44 into "Ape Aquatics" before flowing on choir later, and it brings sensitivity to the middle of "It Was Ours." The third theme in the score eventually contains a flamboyant conveyance of victory as experienced by the lead ape protagonist, Noa, but it is sneaky in its connections to Paesano's integration with the villain material. The composer had intended for there to be a Noa-specific journey theme in the score, and its renderings open as an ascending identity of hope that also sometimes uses four note phrases like the main theme. This idea, however, tends to turn menacing as Paesano applies similar ascending figures for the ape villains. A secondary heroic formation for this idea is teased in the middle of "Discovery," and while the main phrasing of the theme consolidates around the 2:18 mark in "Noa's Purpose," this major secondary phrase follows at 3:00. The theme is surrounded by panic at 1:50 into "For Caeser" and twisted for its darker purposes at the end, those rising structures supplied for evil once more in the early build-up of force in "A Kingdom for Apes" before shifting back to Noa's hopeful variant at 2:59. The secondary, heroic Noa phrase emerges another time in "Together Strong" and forms a major statement of victory. The underlying progressions faintly tinker in "A Past Discovered" and struggle to contribute to "Cannot Trust a Human" before the heroic interlude emerges again at 1:31 into "It Was Ours." This material guides the choral build-up early in "We Will Rebuild," leading into the main theme, and it opens "A New Age" on strings, where it is stretched for drama in a big choral crescendo at 1:32 that may represent a switch of character persona.

Sprinkled in between Paesano's new themes in the score are the welcome references to Goldsmith's motifs. The awkwardly ascending main theme of the 1968 score is extraordinarily elusive but does offer some creative references here, starting with a very slight statement at the start of "Noa's Purpose." Listen for other reprises as the idea informs the pensive swell in the middle of "The Valley Beyond" and is splattered amongst the percussive rhythms in "Human Hunt." The Echoplex-aided searching motif returns early in "Maybe Echo" (the cue title is obviously a pun), followed by Goldsmith's recognizable hunt percussion. Similar are vague references to Goldsmith's suspense techniques, including pitch slurring, in "Marauders in the Mist." That cue reintroduces the famed ape wail effect at 2:48, and its rendering here is a little less overtly funny compared to the 1968 score. Paesano returns wholesale to Goldsmith's chasing music in an explosion throughout "Human Hunt," the ape call at 1:30 shifting from ram's horn to regular brass. That ram's horn version of the effect and Goldsmith's percussion are even more rambunctious later in the cue, the specialty percussion really showcased against the orchestra in the last minute. The ape wail goes into rhythmic siren mode again at 3:47 into "New Weapon" and still isn't quite as overtly humorous. Goldsmith's light timpani ambience is reprised at the start of "Very Clever Apes" and his material is deconstructed in the early dissonance of "Ape Aquatics" before the ape call is transformed into a standard brass device at 2:40. The quantity of these references is highly satisfying, though the searching motif could have been utilized a bit more. The overall sum of Paesano's efforts for Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is truly admirable, his balance of the franchise's origins with its more recent past highly intelligent and mostly satisfying. There are some detriments in how hazy his attribution of the villain material can be, especially as it relates to Noa's theme. Some listeners may want more presence of Goldsmith's atonality, but that audience is somewhat limited. The album presentation is also a potential detriment, clocking in at 114 minutes. Cues like the boring "Apes Will Learn, I Will Learn," tedious "Very Clever Apes," and meandering "Simian Summit" and "A Past Discovered" could have been dropped easily, and the second half of the presentation really languishes despite its continued intelligence. In the end, however, there is enough attractive music to recommend the longer album anyway, Paesano pressing the franchise in a refreshing direction overall.  ****   @Amazon.com: CD or Download

Total Time: 113:57