25 Best Soundtracks Of 2013

Rush

The Soundtrack: An epic 24 tracks, among them Hans Zimmer’s breathless score and rocky big-hitters from Thin Lizzy, David Bowie and Mud.

Basically, just the kind of thing you want pounding over the bass while circling the track.

Best Tune: Bowie’s ‘Fame’. Because it’s Bowie. Obviously.

Metallica Through The Never

The Soundtrack: Essentially a greatest hits album but given an added boost by the fact that all the tracks are live recordings.

Those hits include the likes of ‘Creeping Death’, ‘Cynaide’ and ‘The Ecstacy Of Gold’.

Best Tune: ‘Orion’ which is orgytastic performed live. Has to be heard to be believed.

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

The Soundtrack: As is the norm, there are actually two OSTs for this dystopian thriller – one of them James Newton Howard’s rousing score, the other a ‘Music Inspired By’ compilation.

Both are fantastic, with the latter boasting the likes of Imagine Dragons, The Lumineers and Of Monsters And Men.

Best Tune: Coldplay’s ‘Atlas’ is a neat addition, particularly because of its ‘ticking clock’ sound effects, which chime with the film’s plot.

Hocus Pocus

The Soundtrack: Re-released 20 years after the film first hit cinemas, this more comprehensive compilation of music conducted by John Debney (the original OST was edited-down) is a more full-blooded, fleshed-out album that sucks you right back into Bette Midler’s witchy wonderland.

Perfect for shoving on during Halloween.

Best Tune: Sarah Jessica Parker’s ‘Come Little Children’ is still missing (sigh), so we’ll go for ‘Winnie’s Lament’, purely because it plucks the heartstrings in just the right way.

Cloud Atlas

The Soundtrack: “Pretty cool” according to fan JJ Abrams, which must have left co-director Tom Twyker pretty happy.

Along with Reinhold Heil and Johnny Klimek, Twyker creates a breathless soundscape that somehow manages to unite the many worlds depicted in the Wachowskis’ space opera.

Best Tune: ‘Cloud Atlas Sextet’ is as grand and arresting as anything else on here.

The Kings Of Summer

The Soundtrack: Ryan Miller (Safety Not Guaranteed) taps into that sense of freedom and serenity that accompanies our intrepid lead Joe Toy (Nick Robinson), who escapes the responsibilities of impending adulthood by running away into the woods with his best friend.

Miller’s ambient, unshowy soundscapes channel the rustic charm of Jordan Vogt-Roberts’ film.

Best Tune: Sadly, Thin Lizzy’s ‘Cowboy Song’ is missing, meaning the standout is ‘Breaking Ground’, with its wordless vocals and rattling tambourine.

The Place Beyond The Pines

The Soundtrack: A blend of Mike Patton’s mournful symphonies and tracks from The Cryin’ Shames, Vladimir Ivanoff and Bon Iver.

Patton’s music is what stands out, though, in all its dark, foreboding, stormy glory.

Best Tune: ‘Family Trees’, a sombre offering that captures the themes toiling at the centre of director Derek Cianfrance’s emotional drama. Sort of like a church choir song only spikier and less sleep-inducing.

Iron Man 3: Heroes Fall

The Soundtrack: A film so big it required two whole soundtracks, Iron Man 3 has an official score CD by Brian Tyler, plus the Heroes Fall compilation that features music by lesser-known artists like Neon Trees, The Wondergirls and AWOLNATION.

Though we love Tyler’s work, we’re bigger fans of this compilation, if only because we love a good rock out.

Best Tune: ‘Ready, Aim, Fire’ by Imagine Dragons is the stand-out track thanks to its rousing lyrics, sword-clashing sound effects and anthem-like sound mixing.

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Upstream Colour

The Soundtrack: Upstream Colour is magnificently unique – “part love story, part biological conspiracy” crowed we in our official review – and the same goes for director Shane Carruth’s compilations.

Dreamy and minimalist, it’s as rich as any of the film’s visuals. Soul-enriching stuff.

Best Tune: ‘Universal And Memorable Ending’ for its aching, under-stated beauty.

Mud

The Soundtrack: Southern gothic is the name of the game in David Wingo’s score for this Matthew McConaughey coming-of-ager, which is both playful and ominous, and is complemented by Ben Nichols’ blue-grass tracks ‘Davy Brown’ and ‘The Kid’.

Playing up the film’s mythical leanings, Wingo’s score is eerie, engrossing stuff to listen to on a stormy winter’s night.

Best Tune: ‘Juniper’ injects a little magic into proceedings.

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This Is The End

The Soundtrack: A blend of tracks created originally for the movie – ‘Take Off Yo Panties’ by Snoop Dogg and Craig Robinson – and old school classics like Whitney Houston’s ‘I Will Always Love You’.

Perfect to listen to after you’ve played the Pineapple Express soundtrack. Or even at the same time. If you fancy it.

Best Tune: ‘Everybody’ by Backstreet Boys, clearly.

Man Of Steel

The Soundtrack: Hans Zimmer had a real challenge on his hands attempting to create a Superman score that in no way emulated John Williams’ iconic music, but he pulled it off for Man Of Steel.

Grandiose but never overblown, his soundscapes are sinewy and fragile, only bulking up when needed. Naturally, they also soar.

Best Tune: ‘Superman Theme’, which begins quietly with a mere handful of piano notes before the orchestra swells gently in the background, the drums pick up and the music clambers up into the heavens.

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Spring Breakers

The Soundtrack: It’s easy to forget – what with all the neon bikinis on display – that there was also music in Spring Breakers. And it’s pretty good, too.

A team-up between film composer Cliff Martinez (Drive) and dubstep’s Skrillex, it’s a kinetic oddity that further cements Spring Breakers as something bizarre and totally original.

Best Tune: ‘Scary Monsters And Nice Sprites’ is basically europop with a hardcore beat, and we love it.

Stoker

The Soundtrack: Composer-of-the-moment Clint Mansell (Moon, Filth) does it again with his gorgeous compositions for this dark drama.

Blending Emily Wells’ hip-hop sounds with his own twinkling piano pieces, Mansell creates a striking, haunting and original work of music.

Best Tune: ‘Becomes The Colour’ brings beauty and breathless tension, summing up Mansell’s work on the score perfectly. So creepy you’ll want to watch an episode of Teletubbies before going to bed.

Maniac

The Soundtrack: A throbbing, synth-heavy compilation of tracks by French composer Rob, who attempts to send you into a trance alongside the titular maniac (Elijah Wood) with his moody, Blade Runner -esque melodies.

“I wanted to do something very melancholic and sentimental that’s related to his childhood trauma – very naive melodies and a very soft and childish mood, so that it can contrast with the violence and the horror,” Rob says.

Best Tune: ‘Headache’ is as good as it gets – soaring and sailing with its juicy horror textures, which are just the right side of sleazy.

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The Bling Ring

The Soundtrack: Ignore Lil Wayne’s angry contributions and there’s a smooth RnB edge to the tunes assembled for Sofia Coppola’s teeny tantrum flick, from Frank Ocean’s team-up with Earl Sweatshirt to deadmau5’s ‘FML’.

Best Tune: ‘Ouroboros’ by Oneohtrix Point Never slows things down a bit and is a twinkly mood soundscape that throbs like LA at night-time.

Sound City

The Soundtrack: It’s the soundtrack for Dave Grohl’s documentary, so you already know you’re in safe hands, and Grohl doesn’t disappoint, offering up fresh tracks from Paul McCartney, Stevie Nicks and Trent Reznor.

They’re all created in tribute to the iconic Sound City studio, and fittingly fantastic.

Best Tune: Bizarre as it sounds, McCartney’s the standout here, his ‘Cut Me Some Slack’ a rough and ready ride that taps into Grohl’s vision of creating a soundscape that echoes the no-frills origins of Sound City.

Warm Bodies

The Soundtrack: An achingly cool mix of indie hits and classic foot-stompers, with John Waite’s ‘Missing You’ providing impeccable style (it's every bit as amazing as Tina Turner's stomping diva cover), while Guns N’ Roses bring their own special brand of chill-out rock with ‘Patience’.

In other words, a suitably hip mix from the ever-dependable director Jonathan Levine.

Best Tune: We refuse to let Made In Chelsea kill the magnificence that is ‘Midnight City’ by M83. WE REFUSE.

American Hustle

The Soundtrack: A collection of hits from the ‘70s and ‘80s in keeping with the film’s period setting, with contributions from Elton John, Electric Light Orchestra, The Bee Gees and Tom Jones.

Special shout out to America’s ‘Horse With No Name’, just because it’s brilliant. (And yes, we know the film’s technically out 1 Jan 2014, but we’re only one day out, OK?)

Best Tune: McCartney and Wings’ ‘Live And Let Die’, which captures all the glitzy drama perfectly – and one character lip synchs to it in one of the film’s standout moments.

Inside Llewyn Davis

The Soundtrack: Technically out in 2014, but the film showed at the London Film Festival in 2013, so we’re counting it – mostly because it’s as brilliant as you’d expect any Coen Brothers soundtrack to be.

A fermenting folk compilation, this is a mix of old-school tunes and new stuff as arranged by T-Bone Burnett and Marcus Mumford – Burnett, of course, worked previously with the Coens on O Brother, Where Art Thou?

Best Tune: ‘Hang Me, Oh Hang Me’ is the film’s soulful anthem, but ‘Please Mr Kennedy’ is the track you’ll skip forward to, if only because it features Adam Driver ( Girls ) doing some brilliant back-up in a trembling bass.

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Gravity

The Soundtrack: An unconventional collection of sounds and silences, Steven Price’s score for Alfonso Cuaron’s mega-blockbuster defies action movie music clichés.

No full orchestra was used, with Price creating his sounds using small groups of musicians instead for what feels intimate, elegant and immense.

Best Tune: ‘Don’t Let Go’ is an epic at 11 minutes long, but title track ‘Gravity’, with its Gladiator-like vocals, can’t help but inspire goosebumps.

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Frozen

The Soundtrack: Disney goes Broadway with a little help from Tony-award-winning duo Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez. While Christophe Beck provides the score, they provide the show tunes for one of Disney’s strongest soundtracks in years.

Best Tune: There are chuckles aplenty on ‘In Summer’, sung, naturally by Olaf the snowman.

If it’s chills you’re after, though, power ballad ‘Let It Go’ is a force of nature, especially when sung by Idina Menzel (ignore Demi Lovato’s personality-free radio version).

Django Unchained

The Soundtrack: Another masterpiece from Tarantino, who can do no wrong when it comes to releasing soundtracks for his cinematic rumblings.

Twanging with Western danger and softened by a moving contribution from Italian singer Elisa ('Ancora Qui'), there are the expected sound bites from the film, a glorious James Brown/2Pac mash-up ('Unchained') and not a single clunker in the lot.

Best Tune: Clearly, the sixties 'Django' theme tune, resurrected in full here, is the stand-out track. We could listen to this one on repeat, especially if dragging a coffin through a Western wasteland...

The Way Way Back

The Soundtrack: An eclectic symposium of tracks for this coming-of-ager. Edie Brickell and The Gaddabouts contribute two beautiful songs (tone-setting opener ‘For The Time Being’ and soundtrack-closer ‘Go Where The Love Is’), while INXS pump up the energy levels with ‘New Sensation’.

And Wild Belle’s ‘Shine’ is an upbeat slice of lovely.

Best Tune: Mr Mister’s ‘Kyrie’, mostly because it’s got gorgeous rock trappings, and we can’t understand what the heck he’s singing about.

Filth

The Soundtrack: Despite the dark subject matter, this soundtrack plumbs for an upbeat ‘60s Motown vibe that belies the serious issues at the film’s heart.

So we get The Shirelles crooning ‘Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow’ while Billy Ocean opines that ‘Love Really Hurts Without You’.

Best Tune: Composer Clint Mansell teams up with Eliot Sumner to cover Radiohead’s ‘Creep’ to chilling effect.