Hell or High Water (soundtrack)

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Hell or High Water (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Soundtrack album by
Nick Cave, Warren Ellis and various artists
ReleasedAugust 12, 2016
Genre
Length43:29
LabelMilan
Producer
Nick Cave and Warren Ellis chronology
Far from Men
(2015) 		Hell or High Water
(2016) 		War Machine
(2017)

Hell or High Water (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is the soundtrack to the 2016 film Hell or High Water. The soundtrack featured original score composed by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis, and songs from country musicians. It was released through Milan Records on August 12, 2016.

Background[edit]

On May 2016, it was reported that Australian musicians Nick Cave and Warren Ellis would compose music for the film.[1][2] The duo met Mackenzie at the Retreat Studio in Brighton and played few source materials to the latter who liked it and also demanded the music to be "grainy and with grit". The score in its entirety was completed within ten days; five days for scoring and another five days to refine and string overdubs.[3] Mackenzie recalled that "What I love about Nick and Warren’s film music is that it’s epic and expansive without being grandiose. For me as a filmmaker this hits a sweet spot where the score is able to have scale and emotion but not feel manipulative or overwhelming."[4]

Besides Cave and Ellis' score, the album featured contributions from Townes Van Zandt, Ray Wylie Hubbard, Waylon Jennings, Colter Wall, Scott H. Biram and Chris Stapleton.[5][6] The soundtrack was released through Milan Records on August 12, 2016.[7] A music video for the song "Comancheria" was unveiled in late-September 2016.[8]

Critical reception[edit]

Adam Fleet of The Guardian described the score as "excellent".[9] David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter wrote that Cave and Ellis' "somber" score "has often served as an expressive bridge between the Old and New West".[10] Jimi Famurewa of Empire described it as "typically foreboding".[11] David Edelstein of Vulture wrote "The score, by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis, is free-floating in its sadness. It conjures up a mood—gorgeously—not a meaning."[12] Calling it as a "predictably strong element", Charles Gant of Screen Daily called it as "initially plaintive, progressively more throbbing".[13] Eric Kohn of IndieWire wrote "the twangy score by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis keeps the pace moving at a vibrant clip".[14]

Track listing[edit]

Hell or High Water (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) track listing
No.TitleArtist(s)Length
1."Comancheria"
2:05
2."Dollar Bill Blues"Townes Van Zandt3:01
3."Mama's Room"
  • Cave
  • Ellis
2:49
4."Dust of the Chase"Ray Wylie Hubbard5:05
5."Texas Midlands"
  • Cave
  • Ellis
2:02
6."Robbery"
  • Cave
  • Ellis
3:26
7."You Ask Me To"Waylon Jennings2:29
8."Mountain Lion Mean"
  • Cave
  • Ellis
2:07
9."Sleeping on the Backtop"Colter Wall3:12
10."From My Cold Dead Hands"
  • Cave
  • Ellis
2:30
11."Lord of the Plains"
  • Cave
  • Ellis
2:35
12."Blood, Sweat and Murder"Scott H. Biram2:54
13."Casino"
  • Cave
  • Ellis
1:50
14."Comancheria II"
  • Cave
  • Ellis
1:49
15."Outlaw State of Mind"Chris Stapleton5:35
Total length:43:29

Chart performance[edit]

Chart performance for Hell or High Water (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Chart (2016) Peak
position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[15] 134
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[16] 162
UK Country Artists Albums (OCC)[17] 3
UK Soundtrack Albums (OCC)[18] 12
US Top Soundtracks (Billboard)[19] 18

Accolades[edit]

Accolades for Hell or High Water (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Award Date of ceremony Category Recipient(s) Result Ref.
Austin Film Critics Association December 28, 2016 Best Score Nick Cave and Warren Ellis Nominated [20]
[21]
San Diego Film Critics Society December 12, 2016 Best Original Score Nominated [22]
[23]
San Francisco Film Critics Circle December 11, 2016 Best Original Score Nominated [24]
[25]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "David Mackenzie's 'Hell or High Water' to Feature Music by Nick Cave & Warren Ellis". Film Music Reporter. Archived from the original on June 30, 2016. Retrieved May 17, 2024.
  2. ^ Blistein, Jon (July 13, 2016). "Nick Cave, Warren Ellis Score Upcoming Jeff Bridges Western". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on May 17, 2024. Retrieved May 17, 2024.
  3. ^ "Q&A with Warren Ellis (co-composer with Nick Cave of Hell Or High Water)". Milan Records. September 7, 2016. Archived from the original on February 25, 2021. Retrieved May 17, 2024.
  4. ^ Newsdesk, The Hot Press. "Nick Cave and Warren Ellis to score new drama, Hell or High Water". Hotpress. Archived from the original on June 14, 2021. Retrieved May 17, 2024.
  5. ^ Minsker, Evan (July 12, 2016). "Nick Cave, Warren Ellis Score Jeff Bridges-Starring Film Hell or High Water". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on August 15, 2016. Retrieved May 17, 2024.
  6. ^ McCallum, Rob (July 12, 2016). "Nick Cave and Warren Ellis scoring 'Hell Or High Water' film soundtrack". NME. Archived from the original on May 17, 2017. Retrieved May 17, 2024.
  7. ^ Nordine, Michael (July 13, 2016). "Nick Cave and Warren Ellis' 'Hell or High Water' Score: Listen to Two Excerpts from the Stirring OST". IndieWire. Archived from the original on May 17, 2024. Retrieved May 17, 2024.
  8. ^ Calvario, Liz (September 23, 2016). "'Hell or High Water' Music Video: Nick Cave and Warren Ellis Share 'Comancheria' Clip". IndieWire. Archived from the original on June 4, 2023. Retrieved May 17, 2024.
  9. ^ Fleet, Adam (February 21, 2023). "So good, it's criminal: the ambiguous brilliance of Hell or High Water". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on March 10, 2023. Retrieved May 17, 2024.
  10. ^ Rooney, David (May 16, 2016). "'Hell or High Water': Cannes Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on December 23, 2021. Retrieved May 17, 2024.
  11. ^ Famurewa, Jimi (May 9, 2016). "Hell Or High Water". Empire. Archived from the original on January 12, 2022. Retrieved May 17, 2024.
  12. ^ Edelstein, David (August 11, 2016). "Hell or High Water Is a Haunting, Humanist Western". Vulture. Archived from the original on September 5, 2016. Retrieved May 17, 2024.
  13. ^ Gant, Charles (May 16, 2016). "'Hell or High Water': Cannes Review". Screen Daily. Archived from the original on June 22, 2016. Retrieved May 17, 2024.
  14. ^ Kohn, Eric (May 20, 2016). "Review: Chris Pine and Ben Foster Are Unstoppable Bank Robbers in David Mackenzie's 'Hell or High Water'". IndieWire. Archived from the original on August 11, 2023. Retrieved May 17, 2024.
  15. ^ "Ultratop.be – Soundtrack / Nick Cave & Warren Ellis – Hell Or High Water" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved May 17, 2024.
  16. ^ "Ultratop.be – Soundtrack / Nick Cave & Warren Ellis – Hell Or High Water" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved May 17, 2024.
  17. ^ "Official Compilation Albums Chart Top 100 – 23 to 29 September". Billboard. September 23, 2016. Archived from the original on May 17, 2024. Retrieved May 17, 2024.
  18. ^ "Official Soundtrack Albums Chart Top 50 – 16 to 22 September". Official Charts Company. September 16, 2016. Archived from the original on May 12, 2024. Retrieved May 17, 2024.
  19. ^ "Soundtracks: Week of September 24, 2016". Billboard. September 24, 2016. Archived from the original on September 26, 2016. Retrieved May 17, 2024.
  20. ^ Anderson, Erik (December 15, 2016). "Austin Film Critics Association (AFCA) Nominations: The Handmaiden Lands Top Mentions, Trevante Rhodes Double Nominated". AwardsWatch.com. Archived from the original on June 2, 2017. Retrieved December 15, 2016.
  21. ^ Miller, Neil (December 15, 2016). "2016 Austin Film Critics Awards Nominees, 'Moonlight' and 'Arrival' lead the way in AFCA's 2016 nominations". Medium.com. Archived from the original on June 22, 2017. Retrieved December 15, 2016.
  22. ^ "2016 San Diego Film Critics Society's Award Nominations". San Diego Film Critics Society. December 9, 2016. Archived from the original on January 14, 2018. Retrieved December 9, 2016.
  23. ^ "San Diego Film Critics Society's 2016 Award Winners". San Diego Film Critics Society. December 12, 2016. Archived from the original on October 3, 2018. Retrieved December 12, 2016.
  24. ^ Flores, Marshall (December 9, 2016). "San Francisco Film Critics Circle Nominations!". AwardsDaily.com. Retrieved December 10, 2016.
  25. ^ Nordyke, Kimberly (December 12, 2016). "'Moonlight' Named Best Picture by San Francisco Film Critics Circle". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved December 12, 2016.
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