While Wes Anderson’s visual style have been the primary calling card of his impressive career, an important secondary element has been the utilisation of great soundtracks and scores on his films.
The soundtrack to Anderson’s latest film, Isle of Dogs, once again sees Alexandre Desplat do the lions-share of soundtrack duty. Desplat has been contributing to Anderson’s work as far back as 2009’s Fantastic Mr. Fox, and has become a crucial element to the experience of going to see a Wes Anderson film.
Largely instrumental with the exception of a pair of vocal tracks, this soundtrack as evocative yet quirky, which given the nature of Anderson’s craft and the idiosyncratic plot of the film, is utterly fitting, which is probably why Desplat has been Anderson’s go-to composer for the best part of a decade. Desplat isn’t the sole artist here though, as the work of Kaoru Watanabe is featured a couple of times, and both Sauter-Finegan Orchestra and The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band are responsible for key tracks in the soundtrack.
Rhythm-heavy numbers and massed choral vocals dominate the Isle of Dogs soundtrack, which provides it with an international feel, which is also dense and occasionally foreboding. It’s a soundtrack which eludes to peril and danger without trying to hit you in the face with it, and as such it has an unescapable ‘Wes Anderson’ feel about it, which given the film it is soundtracking, means it is job done for Alexandre Desplat.
The Original Soundtrack to Isle of Dogs is released on 30 March.
