Musique Fantastique

November 28, 2022

Soundtrack to Horror Comedy SOMETHING IN THE DIRT Released by Node Records – Score by Jimmy LaValle aka The Album Leaf

Node Records has released of the soundtrack album for the horror comedy SOMETHING IN THE DIRT, featuring an original score by recording artist The Album Leaf, aka Jimmy LaValle. Distributed by XYZ Films, the film had its world premiere online at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival in January 2022 and opens nationwide in theaters on November 4th. The Node soundtrack album is available now on all streaming and digital platforms (see here).

SOMETHING IN THE DIRT, the latest from Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead (MOON KNIGHT, LOKI, THE TWILIGHT ZONE), is another of the duo’s genre-bending signature sci-fi and supernatural horror/dark comedy films (THE ENDLESS, SYNCHRONIC). In this film, Benson and Moorhead offer up a twisted reflection of our paranoid times in this inventive mix of buddy comedy and sci-fi thriller. This is the filmmakers’ fourth film collaboration with composer Jimmy LaValle, aka The Album Leaf.

The film tells the story of two neighbors who witness something supernatural in their LA apartment building. The two realize that documenting these unexplainable paranormal events could change their lives with fame and fortune. The journey plunges them down a frayed and uncertain path as they uncover the truth of the phenomena. The score is an electronic-orchestral hybrid that creates its own distinct world. It features Hailey Niswanger (Beyoncé, Clairo) on clarinet, bass clarinet, and flute, as well as strings and arrangements from violinist Jake Falby (Chet Faker, Alex Somers) both of whom helped to create unique rhythms, tones, and textures that matched the personality of the characters.

Jimmy LaValle/The Album Leaf is a composer who uses synthesizers and effects to create a nuanced palette of textures and dense, evocative atmospheres. His music defies easy categorization, with a style that creates soothing melodies, highlighted by jolts of unexpected dissonance. While drawing inspiration from minimalist composers and sound manipulators like Max Richter and Cliff Martinez, LaValle has developed his own unique method of decorating a film’s sonic space. “I compose music to compliment the tone of a film,” Jimmy Lavalle is a composer who uses synthesizers and effects to create a nuanced palette of textures and dense, evocative atmospheres. His music defies easy categorization, with a style that creates soothing melodies, highlighted by jolts of unexpected dissonance. While drawing inspiration from minimalist composers and sound manipulators, LaValle has developed his own unique method of decorating the sonic space in his music. He has delivered numerous releases spanning full-length albums, film scores, remixes, collaborative recordings and EP’s of original music as both The Album Leaf and under his own name since 1999.

About scoring films, LaValle says: “The focus is on constructing a mood, using silence as another instrument. I like a dark, melancholic, uplifting quality, which is not as contradictory as it sounds. I find an exclusive aural approach for each film to help it create its own environment, its own world – a cohesive structure that aligns with the director’s vision.”

For more details about this score, see my interview with the composer at musiquefantastique

For more details about the composer, see his website here.

Watch the SOMETHING IN THE DIRT trailer below: