Howe Records releases Howard Shore's score for Maps to the Stars. The film connects the savage beauty of writer Bruce Wagner’s Los Angeles with the riveting filmmaking of director David Cronenberg and a stellar ensemble cast to take a tour into the darkly comic heart of a Hollywood family chasing celebrity, one another and the relentless ghosts of their pasts. The result is a modern Hollywood Gothic at once about the ravenous 21st Century need for fame and validation - and the yearning, loss and fragility that lurk in the shadows underneath...

Maps to the Stars marks the fifteenth feature film collaboration between director David Cronenberg and composer Howard Shore.

While it's an interesting score, I'd argue that it's nothing more than functional. It no doubt works well in the movie, but is a little hit and miss when listened to on its own merits. There are 15 tracks (38 min, 34 sec) on the album and the only really memorable piece of music, for me, was 'Wildfire' which reminded me of the music on the Playstation game Wip3out.

I was therefore surprised to learn that it was the winner of the 2014 Cannes Soundtrack Award this year [2014], until I realised that it won the award for the original score best suited to a feature film. So while it's no doubt instrumental in setting the tone for the movie that doesn't necessarily mean that it's as good when heard on your MP3/CD player.

In fact I have to admit that it sort of just washed over me (and I played it solidly for a long weekend) to the point where I'd suddenly notice that the album had finished, but not have a clue how long I'd been listening to dead air. As I said before, it's functional and nothing more.

4

Darren Rea