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FILMTRACKS.COM
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Review of Sinners (Ludwig Göransson)
FILMTRACKS RECOMMENDS:
Buy it... only if you understand the historically important role of
the soundtrack overall and can appreciate the three truly outstanding
romantic cues of blues and Southern rock that culminate in the middle of
the score.
Avoid it... if you simply cannot forgive the striking dissonance and manipulation made necessary by the presence of vampires in this film, because the score is one of horror in its primary intent.
FILMTRACKS EDITORIAL REVIEW:
Sinners: (Ludwig Göransson) Is it brilliant or
just plain weird? Director Ryan Coogler created one of the most
fascinating cinematic love letters to African and black music in his
2025 thriller Sinners, showcasing the influential history and
power of historical blues and Southern rock. Few films capture the
intensity of this musical evolution, but the way Coogler packages its
story could be considered either smartly sneaky or eye-rollingly
manipulative. A pair of black twins return to 1932 Mississippi after
their fill of gangster affiliation in Chicago, and they assemble an
outstanding collection of blues musicians to perform in a juke joint,
essentially a bar and club. Through the power of their music, and in
particular a preacher's boy who is a revelation on guitar, they generate
an almost mystical allure to the performances. Unfortunately, their
prowess also attracts a group of Irish vampires who have a habit of
biting Klan members, and that's where Sinners threatens to become
a cheap thrill that overshadows the beauty of its music. Ultimately, the
movie devolves into a standard vampire horror show, though one could
argue that the stereotypical audience appeal of that genre brings more
attention to the music, which might be a net positive. Either way, it's
an unpleasant movie in many regards, and you have to extract the
passionate illumination of the musical performances and associated
imagery when watching Sinners. As the long-standing composing
collaborator for Coogler, Ludwig Göransson was an obvious choice
for helming the soundtrack. Despite his Swedish origins, the composer
has long studied and appreciated black music, and his extensive research
pays off in the collection of existing songs, all-new songs, and
original score that form a cohesive whole for the occasion. For film
score collectors, the blues, Southern rock, and metal flavor of the
songs might be difficult to digest, but they are pivotal to the success
of the picture. Even the score itself will be challenging for some, as
it has to bridge the gap between the inevitable prominence of the songs
and the unfortunately mandatory horror element in its own ranks.
As expected for the film, Göransson's approach to the score is equally measured and intelligent, but it's by no means an easy listening experience. The intoxicating aspects of the songs are evident in the score when the composer can achieve some tonal romanticism, but those moments are confined to one sequence of cues in the middle to late portions of the narrative. He laces the score with instrumental and vocal solos that carry over from the songs, though these performances don't always yield the score's highlights. The basic instrumentation is similar but skewed more towards the historical blues side of the equation than the rock and metal. This extremely authentic flavor is defined by acoustic and electric guitars, banjo, string and electric bass, harmonica, jew's harp, regular organ and Hammond organ. The harmonica is a particular highlight of the whole score, as you rarely hear that instrument performed in movie soundtracks with such distinction. For the Irish vampire subplot, Göransson employs fiddle, pennywhistle, accordion, and bodhran drums, but don't expect these elements to sound quite as obvious. In fact, much of the instrumental identity of the vampires is bolstered by a broader string section and fantasy chorus in later, bite-happy cues. The solo vocals that carry over to the score are equally soulful at times, as in "Before the Sun Went Down," and the ensemble vocal exposition in "Magic What We Do (Surreal Montage)" is remarkable, to say the least. The score suffers from a badly split personality because of the occasionally mesmerizing blues coming into sparsely violent battle with the dissonance of the horror. The aforementioned sequence of romantic blues and Southern rock cues in "Hole Up 'Til Sunrise," "Together Forever," and "Bury That Guitar" provide the score's catharsis and easy attractions on album. The rest of the score really requires an appreciation of the film to fully comprehend, especially with the themes not always clarifying themselves in obvious ways. Göransson isn't known for simple and catchy themes; his identities tend to be more nuanced and developed in unexpectedly intelligent but ungraspable ways. Only one of the themes is clearly connected to the songs as well, which is a disappointment. The notable connection between the songs and score in Sinners, aside from the strikingly unique blend of instrumentation and performance inflection, is the Moore brothers theme that develops in the score from the song "Troubled Waters/Homesick" that was co-written by Göransson. Its descending phrasing dominates in "Smokestack Twins" with aggressive blues demeanor and harmonica, almost predicting the inevitable downfall of the characters based on their checkered past. Disturbed and twisted for ambient suspense during character interactions in "Clarksdale Love," this idea then forms a rhythmic base for the score's eventual main theme in "Hole Up 'Til Sunrise" and "Together Forever." It's a convenient device for the composer to access in the background of any activity, and the technique shines late in "Bury That Guitar." The melody is far sparser in its plucking and electric guitar strumming in "Grand Closin,'" manipulated strings repeating the idea's cyclical motions annoyingly in this cue. It's more pensive early in its early "Grand Closin'" form in "Elijah" but becomes too overbearingly cool in its style later in the cue. The aforementioned main theme represents the entire musical story arc of the film, following the surviving guitar player, Sammie, and the impact of the juke joint on all. It's a very simple theme consisting of two phrases of highly stylish blues with the prime romantic appeal. The second phrase sometimes appears as a closer to other ideas, teased on harmonica, for instance, near the end of "Smokestack Twins." The theme is slowly enunciated in the vocal layers of "Magic What We Do (Surreal Montage)" and becomes compelling by the end, as the layers achieve better tonality. This main theme is intertwined on harmonica with the villains' low string material in "She Said, 'We?,'" again mostly with the secondary phrase in repetition. An organ joins the ensemble with tolling chimes in the rock and metal-influenced "Hole Up 'Til Sunrise," the full melody introduced in totality in both its phrases on electric guitar at 1:50. The later complete guitar performance at 2:21 in the cue is a highlight of the score. Göransson continues the theme's development on harmonica and organ in the gripping "Together Forever," with choral chanting and thumping percussion adding force to the idea by 2:56. It's overemphasized in the slamming bravado by the latter portions of "Thy Kingdom Come," though. The main theme for Sinners achieves its pinnacle with the same overbearing attitude from prior cues in "Bury That Guitar," but with even better success. This is truly the climaxing cue for the thematic narrative, the guitar and harmonica carrying the theme very well and balanced by the depth of the choir to serve the fantasy element. The composer applies only the theme's second phrase to close out "Elijah" but reprises its "Magic What We Do (Surreal Montage)" vocal layers in "Free for a Day" as a nice closing tribute to the prior cue to wrap the score with redemption. An artificial fade-out for this track on album is disappointing, though. Secondary themes include a Grace and Bo family identity that is more aggressive and features processed descending rhythmic lines, developed with slurred pitches in "Grace, Bo and Lil' Lisa." The lead vampire villain receives ominous bass string meandering in "Not What He Seems," yielding to quick choral bombast. This mode informs the highly dissonant vampire material in general, during which the blues and Irish instruments are badly abused. These passages are nearly unlistenable on album, starting with the very disturbing atmospheres in "Filídh, Fire Keepers and Griots." The vampire tones interrupt the end of "(Delta) Slim's Patch" with the score's first string presence while annoying processing infuses horrific slurring effects with the blues in "Before the Sun Went Down." Much of "She Said, 'We?'" is challenging to absorb, though this demeanor is dialed back to suspenseful banjo over string washes in "Playin' Games, Tellin' Ghost Stories" prior to erupting with grating and obnoxious heartbeat effects at the end of cue. This material devolves into senseless percussive action in very long "Thy Kingdom Come" and purely ambient muck throughout "I've Seen Enough of This Place" without much blues life left. In the end, it's that trio of "Hole Up 'Til Sunrise," "Together Forever," and "Bury That Guitar" that best translate the power of the songs into a listenable package in the score. And they are a very powerful set, representing some of the most uniquely engaging film music of the era. The rest is either largely forgettable or outright alienating, however, a byproduct of the vampire presence in the story. Approach this score with caution if you haven't appreciated the soundtrack as a whole in context, as it truly requires you to understand its highly unusual intellectual approach prior to hearing it alone.
TRACK LISTINGS:
Total Time: 71:27
NOTES & QUOTES:
There exists no official packaging for this album.
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