Film soundtrack "Phantom Thread" from composer Jonny Greenwood of Radiohead, who did the soundtrack for "There Will Be Blood", quite possibly may be his best work yet. A calm, warm, and romantic modern classical collection of songs clocking in at just under an hour, the music is uniquely delightful.
The songs are dreamy and ambient, obviously drawing inspiration from many classical and neoclassical composers. It sounds almost like melodramatic neoclassical composition with flavors of 'vintage' classical to make the listener or watcher believe that they're viewing something old yet new at the same time.
The construction and production of songs are meticulously perfect, and you can tell Jonny really put his heart into each sentimental note. Modern classical is such an underrepresented genre of music in popular culture today, and as such it is wonderful to see the beautifully crafted polyphonic classical music that Greenwood has made.
Deceptively simple and minimilastic, Jonny still says a lot with very little, standing out among the saturated monotony that stands to be the few modern classical film score composers today.
It is obvious that Jonny learned a lot by going to college for classical music, and he shows it through such a deeper understanding of his music than ever before, both artistically and technically. Radiohead is obviously not the only facet where his musical genius lies.
Personally, I believe that a film score should stand alone as a collection of music if complied into an album. "Phantom Thread" does just this, as I have not yet seen the movie, but still believe that the music all works cohesively together and meshes well.
This is a good sign for both the movie and soundtrack itself, as a soundtrack is always better once having seen the movie because it enhances the scenes whilst also bringing them back to the listener after viewings.
Overall, the soundtrack shows that Greenwood's solo career may be the best out of any Radiohead member, Yorke included. This spells much growth and success for Greenwood's future in film score and beyond, and I am happy to see what will come of it.
