This Is England '90 Soundtrack
7/10
This Is England ’90 has probably been my TV highlight of the year, ending the journey of characters that we’ve grown to love ever since the original film, ending for now at least that is. Music has been a major part of that journey and this latest instalment is no exception. For the most part if you listened to this soundtrack as a regular compilation, you could be forgiven for thinking the show is a hilarious period piece about the time when rave started to go mainstream and people were beginning to discovers the joys of dancing, and let’s be honest - drugs. The inclusion of some genuinely funny snippets of dialogue reinforces this impression. Classics from the Stone Roses, Happy Mondays, James & The La’s rub shoulders with tunes by Scientist, Adamski and 808 State, who’s track Cubik still sounds years ahead of its time.
It is left to Ludovico Einaudi’s soaring and emotional orchestral pieces to remind us that This Is England is a show which can make for extremely tough viewing at times, and it’s that mix of humour and high drama that are the hallmarks of director Shane Meadows. My one gripe is even though absolutely no-one was listening to William Onyeabor in 1990, it would have been great to have included his Fantastic Man track which was used in the series.
A solid compilation of fairly random songs, that remind us of the TV series, but I’m not sure if it would appeal to or even be discovered by anyone outside of its target market.
7/10
