John Avarese's score for The Arrangement is released through Plaza Mayor Company Ltd. Two lonely detectives investigate a series of mysterious midnight deaths. The first victim has a picture of her with the next, and with each death the picture changes to show the next victim, sending the detectives on a paranoid journey into the victim’s past… What appears to be a crime drama has a dark undercurrent, with the added ingredient of a clandestine love story. All of these elements add up to a modern version of a film noir...

There's something satisfyingly retro about John Avarese's score for The Arrangement. I's hauntingly beautiful in places ('That Was Smooth, Cowboy') and eerily unsettling in others ('I Passed the Test'). But it has an overall feeling of a classic movie from a bygone era.

Talking about the project Avarese said: "The intent in writing the score was to have tense synthetic rhythms while incorporating string colours reminiscent of Jerry Goldsmith. Even though the production was under a tight schedule, I had the opportunity to utilize a small string orchestra and the talents of oboist Nina Cheng."

The score contains 21 tracks (1 hour, 17 min, 38 sec) and has so many interesting themes buried away that it should delight you for months. Original and multilayered. What more could you wish for?

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Darren Rea