Sony Classical release Thank You For Your Service (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) with music by Grammy winner and Oscar nominated composer Thomas Newman. The movie follows a group of U.S. soldiers returning from Iraq who struggle to integrate back into family and civilian life, while living with the memory of a war that threatens to destroy them long after they've left the battlefield...

It's been quite some time since I heard a new score by Thomas Newman. In fact it was 2016's lacklustre Passengers. I'm happy to report that a little of that old Newman magic is very present in this new release.

The score contains 19 tracks (35 min, 18 sec) and harks back to the composer's style for soundtracks like The Shawshank Redemption, in that it's a slow, laid back affair which beautifully washes over you. This is probably most obvious in tracks like 'Jax' and 'April 28'.

It's a slow build of an album, and leaves you wanting more thanks to the final track, which is easily the album's crowning moment, the beautiful and eerie 'Dog Tag (Ending)'.

While it's not quite up there with his scores for The Shawshank Redemption; The Green Mile; or Road to Perdition, there are still enough interesting themes here to appease Newman's fans.

7

Darren Rea