The Assassination of Jesse James By the Coward Robert Ford (Music from the Motion Picture)

iTunes Review

Much like the soundtrack to 2005’s The Proposition, the Nick Cave and violinist Warren Ellis contributions to 2008’s The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, offer dark, ominous piano and string tone poems that suggest an open frontier fraught with danger and sad, inevitable ends. Cave does not sing here, but provides an instrumental bed that is both spare and lush, as Ellis’ strings provide a continuous hum. “Last Ride Back To KC” begins with a minimalist buzz and hypnotic notes that in their final minutes break into a surging piano melody that opens things considerably. “What Happens Next” targets an action scene with its extra percussive accents. “Cowgirl” and “Carnival” add an incongruent electric guitar to the mix that slightly breaks the chamber room spell. However, “Rather Lovely Thing,” its follow-up, “Another Rather Lovely Thing” and “Destined for Great Things” focus on precise piano notes that trickle like water from the faucet. “Counting the Stars” and “Song for Bob” are so incredibly soothing it’s as if Cave has tapped into a naturalist New Age music that declines the invitation of soaring with the stars in order to find its root in the earth.