WaterTower Music has released two soundtrack albums for Motherless Brooklyn: the original score by composer Daniel Pemberton, and a soundtrack featuring new music from artists including Thom Yorke & Flea and Wynton Marsalis, as well as new recordings of jazz classics by Marsalis performed by Joe Farnsworth, Russell Hall, Isaiah J. Thompson, Willie Jones III, Ted Nash and Jerry Weldon...

Daniel Pemberton has done a remarkable job of delivering a noir-esque jazz based score without once turning to the musical cliches that make that genre so instantly recognisable. Yes, of course this is a jazz-based score, but it's handled with such a flair and passion that it is certain to find its way into the music collection of jazz and soundtrack collectors, who will be surprised at its originality.

There's a constant edge-of-seat suspense to Pemberton's themes, which build, grow and mature as the album moves forward. Once you've heard it once, repeat listens bring instant rewards, as you peel back layer after layer to reveal the heart of the movie.

Rather than a main theme, there appears to be a style which is woven throughout the tracks, a sort of atmospheric building block that the themes are fashioned out of.

It's a score that is timeless and yet modern and fresh. It's certainly one of the movie's most notable characters.

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Darren Rea