Album- Frankenweenie Unleashed!
Artist- Various
Director Tim Burton has been for some time a renowned
director known for films that have a quirky style but are full of heart. Music
is seemingly a major force within the Tim Burton world, but recently is films
have also created soundtracks of songs by a range of artists who are inspired
by the film. The latest offering is Frankenweenie Unleashed, inspired by the
2012 film Frankenweenie, whose narrative focused on a young boy named Victor
and his love for his dog who dies, and who Victor brings back to life. Could
this soundtrack be a sign that we should pay even greater attention to Burton’s
work?
Track 1- Strange Love
(performed by Karen O)
Karen O is more widely known for her role as the vocalist
for the American Rock Band Yeah Yeah Yeah’s, but she has also had involvement
in soundtrack work before, and was approached by Tim Burton himself to produce
a song for the film. Inspired by the B movie fright films that were referenced
in the film, Strange Love is a quirky and peppy mid tempo song that feels rooted
within the film in terms of the love sentiment. The lyrical content focuses on
how love can be strange, but you should kind of accept that. The message is
strange overall but the lyrics have a sweetness that will appeal to the films
core demographic, whilst the singer gives us a fragile, cute vocal performance
that becomes embedded in your head through the varied vocal range that she
uses. The production features quirky drum percussion and guitar rhythms that
feel a little European to me in terms of the tone, and although this is just a
cute but weird song as a whole, it is appealing and nice in terms of the movie.
3.5/5
Track 2- Electric
Heart (Stay Forever) (performed by Neon Trees)
American, alternative rock band Neon Trees give us a light
and almost euphoric feeling rock song that also sounds pop influenced and finds
the group in this mixture of a jolly and calm, mid tempo state. Lyrically the
track finds lead singer Tyler Glenn singing to this person about the way he
used to feel, with the chorus focusing on how if they stay together then love
will always be there. The song very nicely slots into the Frankenstein
narrative of the film in terms of using electricity to revive the dead, but for
me the song’s lyrics are also sweet and innocence and could stand alone as a
single outside of the movie. Glenn gives us a smooth and light vocal
performance that has a slight suave characteristic in the bridge and which also
shows of the power of his voice in the last chorus. The production features a
cool blend of a gritty electric guitar, clattering synth beats and a heavy bass
drum to create this almost sedated but still bouncy and uplifting sound that is
attention grabbing and makes for a great tune.
4/5
Track 3- Polartropic
(You Don’t Know Me) (performed by Mark Foster)
Mark Foster (the lead singer from Foster the People) gives
us a funky, up tempo indie track that features a harsher sound than the
previous tracks and more of a negative lyrical basis. We find the singer
seemingly fitting himself into the role of Victor from the movie in terms of
giving us this simple sentiment of being an outsider. The lyrics are very
catchy in terms of the twisted but direct message that people can relate to,
whilst Foster gives us a dark, ethereal vocal that is nicely layered and grows
in power. Production wise the song features a frenetic piano melody, haunting
strings and heavy drum beats that gives us this dark song that builds in power,
and which is also invested in fright films of the past like the albums opening number.
3.5/5
Track 4-Almost There
(performed by Passion Pit)
Appearing as a bonus track on the Japanese Edition of their
album Gossamer, Almost There is a mid tempo tune by Passion Pit with frenetic
electro beats and ambient synths that give a transition in the mood of the
record. Lead singer Michael Angelakos gives us a delicate vocal performance
that has this nice intense quality about it and which finds the singer
seemingly conveying this message of going through some hurdles to get to the
other side. The song features a cool blend of peppy bass and smooth electro
beats with these light synth notes, and so although the song is perhaps a bit
too lyrically sparse and a bit too instrumental heavy, the track has this
inspiring, happy but fragile tone that gives it a cute and almost heart-warming
quality.
3.5/5
Track 5- Pet Sematary
(performed by Plain White T’s)
A cover of a song by the Ramones, Pet Sematary once again
finds the album changing again, as American pop punk band Plain White T’s give
us a stomping pop rock effort. The song lyrically finds the group singing of
how they don’t want to be buried in a pet sematary and don’t want to live life
again, with the song’s lyrics working well with the storyline of the film even
though the track wasn’t designed for the film. The vocal performance is smooth
and simple and effectively taps into the emotion of the lyrics, but the
production is easily the tracks best asset, with the flourish of strings and
crashing cymbals making for a grand finish to the songs latter half.
3.5/5
Track 6- With My
Hands (performed by Kimbra)
New Zealand singer-songwriter Kimbra provides us with a
stomping indie pop number complete with a quirky vocal delivery and some snappy
hand clap beats in the form of With My Hands. Lyrically we find the singer
telling us of how she can put us back together, focusing on the reanimation
perspective of the film. The lyrics are nice but the way that Kimbra delivers
the lines is much more interesting, with the artist dipping into various
elements of her range to create this languid but equally snappy edge to the
song that makes it seem as if she definitely means what she is saying. The
layering of the singer’s voice also works really well in creating an extra
layer of passion to the track, making this a smart and snappy addition to the soundtrack.
3.5/5
Track 7- Everybody’s
Got a Secret (performed by Awolnation)
Featured on the deluxe edition of the groups debut album,
Everybody’s Got a Secret is a bubbling mid tempo track from American electronic
rock band Awolnation. The song focuses on the band telling us of how they and
everyone has a secret, and how they think about their secrets and how something
good should come from such things. This song is probably one of the tracks that
doesn’t work as well within the soundtrack, as the song has this quality of being
focused on different situations, but with the commanding and tender vocal
performance the track does seem to tap into the mind-set of having a secret
very well and links with the films main character. The stomping, bass led
rhythms of the song creates a vibrant tone that works simply but effectively,
keeping you engaged with this idea of having a secret.
3.5/5
Track 8- Immortal
(performed by Kerli)
Immortal focuses on the idea of growing up in life and
coming to this point where you take a risk and feel immortal with this person
by your side. Initially recorded by Finnish artist Tarja, the song was reworked
by the initial singer and writer of the track Kerli, giving us a song that taps
into both the life and friendship elements of the film. Kerli’s voice is really
distinctive and has this smooth but slightly vulnerable texture that brings out
the emotive qualities of the lyrics very nicely. The blending of thumping pop
rock production with shimmering synth notes creates a grand tone to the track
that almost makes it feel like we are listening to the albums emotional epicentre.
4/5
Track 9- My
Mechanical Friend (performed by Grace Potter, The Flaming Lips)
Another shimmering, haunting song that focuses on the idea
of friendship that is one of the films foundations, My Mechanical Friend finds
American singer Grace Potter teaming up with American rock band The Flaming
Lips for a rock heavy song that is infused with some electronic notes. The
songs production is another grand affair built around a looping drum beat and
forceful guitar riffs, with bleeping electronic notes punctuating the track
throughout. The song simply finds Potter telling us of how she is going to
stitch up her mechanical friend and bring them to life, being lyrically
cemented in the main narrative of the film. Yet because of this the lyrics don’t
really have that much of an impact, and whilst Potter gives us a moody vocal
performance, the production feels like it overpowers things, whilst it seems
quite pointless to credit The Flaming Lips considering they only really give us
some background vocals.
3/5
Track 10 Lost Cause
(performed by Imagine Dragons)
American alternative rock band Imagine Dragons provide us with
Lost Cause, a song that brings the record down to a slightly darker place, as
lead singer Dan Reynolds sings of being a lost cause and digging his own grave.
The song is much more lyrically intriguing as the song could be relatable to
the idea of reanimating a dead dog being a lost cause, or could be related to
the idea of a boy being lost without his faithful companion. Reynold’s vocal
performance is great in the way that he controls his vocal in the verses and
then belts out the chorus with the right amount of passion and pain, creating
this vocal performance where you are continually attentive. The simple tone of
the production with the use of a subtle piano line, thumping rock rhythms and
nice electro flourishes creates this intense but steady sound that makes the
song more of a complete package.
3.5/5
Track 11- Underground
(performed by Grouplove)
Underground finds indie rock band Grouplove telling us of how
it is nice to know that someone is safe underground and that you can be at
peace with this idea. The song nicely offsets the darkness of the previous
track, with lead singer Hannah Hooper providing us with a light vocal
performance that feels full of warmth and which is emotive enough to make the
song feel believable. At times the production could be taken down a notch, but
ultimately the blend of guitar, drums and strings just creates a bright texture
for the song that makes things feel passionate and heartfelt, despite the ‘woah’
hook being incredibly annoying.
3/5
Track 12- Building a
Monster (performed by Skylar Grey)
Once again we have a song focused upon the idea of reanimation
with Building a Monster, a song where American singer-songwriter Skylar Grey tells
us of how she is building a monster and how she isn’t who people thought she
was. Lyrically it interesting in a way, but vocally Grey’s voice feels very
weak, and therefore the lyrics don’t have the right level of impact that they
should. The mix of strings and military style drums is nice but becomes bland
after a while, creating a dark moment in the record that feels slightly
pointless.
2.5/5
Track 13- Witchcraft
(performed by Robert Smith)
A popular song originally made famous by Frank Sinatra,
Witchcraft lyrically focuses on the idea of The Cure lead singer Robert Smith
being overpowered by witchcraft. The idea of witchcraft doesn’t seem to totally
fit with the ideas present in the film, but Smith provides us a with a quirky
vocal performance flecked with some nice high notes, whilst the soulful, jazzy
qualities of the production with the use of piano provides an interesting sound
for the soundtrack as a whole, even if it doesn’t fit as comfortably alongside
the other songs.
3/5
Track 14- Praise Be
New Holland (performed by Winona Ryder)
The closing track of the record actually prominently
features in the film, and finds actress Winona Ryder (who voices one of the
film’s characters) praising the town of New Holland, which is the films
setting. As such it is hard to actually judge the song, and really this is just
a bonus track that makes sense if you watch the film.
Final Review
Frankenweenie Unleashed! is a really strong collection of
songs inspired by a film, with each of the songs being really relatable to the
film’s storytelling. Each of the individual artists bring something different
to the soundtrack but remain within the same realms, with tightly structured
lyrics and slightly different sounds that still come together for one coherent
piece. Some of the production could have been toned down and the vocals could have
been improved for some songs, whilst the latter half of the record does slip in
quality. But all in all this is an accomplished accompanying soundtrack that
shows Tim Burton has a great ear for music.
7/10
Best Track- Electric
Heart (Stay Forever) (performed by Neon Trees)
Worst Track- Building
a Monster (performed by Skylar Grey)
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