The Album Leaf’s compelling original score for Justin Benson’s and Aaron Moorhead’s sci-fi film Synchronic is getting a release from Milan Records next week, but you don’t have to wait that long to experience it. Today, Vehlinggo premieres “Where’s the Victim,” a short but potently hypnotic track that will hit streaming services tomorrow.
The work on Synchronic marks the third time the artist also known as Jimmy LaValle has collaborated with Benson and Moorhead. This film stars Anthony Mackie and Jamie Dornan — Steve (Mackie) and Dennis (Dornan) are New Orleans paramedics and close friends who are called to a series of bizarre and accidents that they chalk up to a mysterious new party drug. After Dennis’s oldest daughter abruptly disappears, Steve discovers a terrifying truth about the supposed psychedelic that serves to change all that he knows about reality and time itself.
The Album Leaf’s score for Synchronic offers up a rich tapestry of evocative electronic and organic sounds filled with foreboding, trepidation, an entrancing sense of wonder, and a steady eruption of the fine pairing of both traditional and experimental sounds and structures. “Where’s the Victim” notably is a great demonstration of all of this, showcasing a serpentine labyrinth of unsettling synths, electronic textures, and a string section that immerse the listener in what it might feel like to get tangled up in the space-time continuum.
“Synchronic is my third score collaboration with [Benson] and [Moorehead], and with each film, I try to find something special to center the score around,” LaValle said in a statement. “With Synchronic, I created a custom synth patch to replicate what the drug may sound like and where it could send you in time. I was then able to find my way within the film, accompanying its many twists and turns while keeping the score cohesive. This time I was also able to collaborate with vocalists Angela Liu and Lola Blanc, multi-instrumentalist James McAlister, cellist Clarice Jensen, violinist Jake Falby, percussionist Joe Wong, and cellist and double bassist Gabe Noel – I’m grateful to each performer’s improvisation and performance. I think the score supports the film well and am excited to share it!”
You can pre-order the soundtrack album tomorrow via Milan Records ahead of its Jan. 15 release. The film has VOD and physical releases coming this month.
LaValle’s The Album Leaf project, which he founded in 1999 as a solo effort that is now often a band, has earned a reputation for its innovative compositions and secured key tour spots with bands such as Sigur Ros. LaValle counts a diverse set of artists and genres as influences — including Can, Cluster, Harmonia, Brian Eno, and traditional mariachi. His previous work with Benson and Moorehead are 2017’s The Endless and 2014’s Spring.
Synchronic (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) Tracklisting
1. Arm Chair Physicist
2. Sucking Chest Wound
3. Brianna
4. Where’s The Victim?
5. I’ll Miss Her
6. MRI
7. Like A Said Cap
8. There Was A Loud Crash
9. Please Don’t
10. Tara, She’s Missing
11. Synchronic Is The Needle
12. First Dose
13. Brain Damaged
14. Ice Age
15. Observation
16. Tara
17. We’ll Leave
18. Search Party
19. Don’t Be Late
20. Same Door Home
21. Why Didn’t You Tell Me?
22. War
23. Shoot The Both Ya
24. Always
25. Synchronic
26. Synchronic Credits
