Daniel Pemberton’s wondrously expansive score for Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse does an impeccable job of not only building upon the excellent stylistic ideas and themes from the first film but also introducing a wide range of new ones too, all-in furthering and expanding upon the musical world of the Spider-Verse in about as thunderously enjoyable a manner as possible.

Five years after the first film released, here we finally are at last with Daniel Pemberton’s sequel score in Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse. I was quite a fan of the first film’s score when it came out and still am to this day, as Pemberton’s acutely unparalleled scoring style has always caught my ear. To quote myself on the subject (from my 2018 Into The Spider-Verse review); “the composer’s truly unique blend of hip-hop and traditional orchestra works astonishingly well, shining the brightest in the fast-paced frantic action tracks. The main theme is great, being memorable and very Miles Morales (upbeat and hopeful with many a heroic hint) and it’s used just enough that it feels fleshed out without becoming tired.” All-in, it was a damned good score. And as such, you can probably imagine how high my excitement levels were in anticipation for this sequel score. So frankly let’s not waste any more time, and dive straight in.

The score begins with “Across The Spider-Verse (Intro)”, and a particularly ominous tone is set pretty much right off the bat as moody electronics build to a worrisome crescendo in the first minute of the cue. After this though the mood gets a little brighter with enthusiastic drums and an upbeat electric guitar, and it isn’t long from there before Miles’ exquisite three-note motif from the first score takes centre stage in increasingly emphatic form, closing the track a minute or so later in a particularly thunderous, heroic crescendo. Overall, it’s an “Intro” that certainly grabs your attention (in a good way), immersing the listener back into the musical world of the Spider-Verse so fast it’s as if we never left. From here though Pemberton then kicks off some new character themes, with “Spider-Woman (Gwen Stacy)” starting us off; Gwen’s new theme stays quiet and almost sombre on gentle synth for the first ninety seconds of her cue, before a feverish percussive pace then kicks the mood up a few upbeat notches and the theme then thunders along in a much louder, more enthusiastic manner for the rest of the three minute setpiece.

In its opening seconds “Vulture Meets Culture” introduces a motif for the titular villain that’s surprisingly operatic in nature (complete with actual opera-esque vocals). Gwen’s new motif however interrupts this near musical tranquility rather triumphantly a few seconds later, with the two new motifs then engaging in dramatic thematic battle for the remainder of the track. “Spider-Man 2099 (Miguel O’Hara)” then switches things up completely in both style and tone; loud (almost deafeningly loud) Dune-esque electronics get properly in your face in the track’s opening seconds, with percussive beats elevating this new motif in tension until the sadly short cue then ends at just over a minute long. Gwen’s new theme then leads a thunderously heroic charge at the start of action setpiece and standout cue “Guggenheim Assemble”, with Miles’ motif joining the fight at around the halfway mark followed by both Vulture’s villainously operatic and Spider-Man 2099’s ominously electronic themes, with all motifs – Miles, Gwen, Vulture and 2099 – then engaging in loudly epic and thoroughly enjoyable orchestral/electronic action for the remainder of the frankly excellent track.

Having pretty impressively introduced its themes the score then begins proper in “Across The Titles”, with the familiar hip-hop beats from Into The Spider-Verse reprising in typically upbeat form throughout the thirty second track. “My Name Is… Miles Morales” then happily picks up where it leaves off, with the heroic three note motif for the titular character taking centre stage throughout the three minute thematic setpiece. All-in it’s basically “Spider-Man Loves You” from the end of the first score but longer, and I’m all here for it. Tonally the composer then switches things up yet again for “Spot Holes 1”, echoing a gently serene but also kind of ominous tone throughout this minute-long track with some very Blade Runner-esque synth playing throughout. Miles’ motif then returns in a much calmer, strings-based manner in “To My Son”, with this orchestral solemnity also continuing into the subsequent “Under The Clocktower” and “Rio And Miles” cues on gentle brass alongside serene synth.

An additional selection of new themes then graces us over the next couple of tracks; “Creation Of The Spot” for example hints toward the synth of “Spot Holes 1” while also giving it a bit of a villainous electronic turn. “Spider-Man India (Pavitr Prabhakar)” then takes a pretty substantial dive into Indian folk music, with percussive beats and emphatic electronics taking centre stage for much of the cue alongside the occasional vocal chant. “Spider-Punk (Hobie Brown)” then switches the tone up yet again as a deafeningly loud electric guitar leads the musical charge, with thunderous drums and screaming vocals keeping the pace high and the mood metal throughout. “Indian Teamwork” then reprises Pavitr’s enthusiastically percussive motif alongside Miles’ classic three-note one, with the resulting Indian/orchestral style combination making for a pretty fantastic action setpiece overall. Miles’ theme then reprises in upbeat orchestral form alongside cheerful electronic beats in the subsequent “Welcome To Nueva York (Earth-928)”.

Spider-Man 2099’s malevolent motif echoes ominously into view once again in “2099 Lab”, with the now familiar Dune-esque electronics taking point throughout the two and a half minute cue. “Canon Event” however then dials up the track length – coming in at just over seven minutes long – and takes a deep dive into electronic atmosphere. Light, ethereal beats open the piece, with lengthy synth notes setting a particularly wondrous tone together with several sporadic and similarly tranquil appearances from Miles’ three note theme. Towards the end of the cue however the music then picks up a bit, with Miles motif building to a particularly thunderous crescendo to close things out. Action setpiece “All Stations – Stop Spider-Man” then kicks the pace up into properly frantic territory, with drum and bass thundering into fray accompanied by 2099’s now standardly imposing motif. Miles’ theme also rockets through at infrequent intervals through this four minute track, with both themes musically chasing eachother until the piece fades to a worrisome close.

“Nueva York Train Chase” then continues the action, with tense electronic build-up occupying the first two minutes until Miles’ theme finally bursts heroically onto centre stage on soaring brass. This orchestral upbeatness is then beaten down slightly for a few minutes, with the tone turning dark and malevolently electronic for much of the rest of the track until Miles’ motif then soars back into fray to emphatically close it out. The eight minute “Falling Apart” then pulls the score even further into ominousness and mystery, with ethereal electronics opening the piece alongside Spider-Man 2099’s imposing theme. Miles’ motif then eventually follows suit on worried yet wondrous synth, with the track calming for several serene minutes before the pace re-quickens at the six minute mark, and a dramatically confident Miles theme then carries the now deafeningly epic track to its finish.

Downtrodden, strings-based solemnity takes over in “I Beat Them All”, with Miles’ theme echoing sorrowfully through every so often on quietly sombre brass. “The Anomaly” however then turns the tone eerie, reprising the whistling motif from the first Spider-Verse score in just as sinister a manner as ever for three particularly unnerving minutes. To close out the album “Across The Spider-Verse (Start A Band)” then brings the score full circle, reprising the ominous electronics from the opening “Intro” cue to start before then unleashing a powerfully conclusive rendition of Miles’ theme on increasingly loud and grandiose brass and electronics, with an electric guitar then thunderously closing out the track, and the score.

Overall, Daniel Pemberton’s wondrously all-encompassing score for Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse is pretty damned spectacular; it builds on the established stylistic ideas and themes from the previous film to an impeccable standard – with Miles’ now classic three note motif centre stage of course – while also opening up its musical universe rather considerably with a wide range of new and different styles and themes. And the best thing? It all works incredibly well. From the dramatically operatic motif for Vulture (complete with actual vocals) and the moodily Dune-esque synth theme for Spider-Man 2099, all the way up to the gorgeously stylistic pieces for Spider-Man India and Spider-Punk and of course Gwen’s marvellously enthusiastic theme, they’re all simply sublime. Gwen’s in particular features pretty prominently in standout cue “Guggenheim Assemble” too, an astoundingly composed action setpiece that features many of the score’s new themes engaging in thunderously enjoyable orchestral/electronic battle, so if that cue doesn’t sell you, nothing will.

All-in it’s another triumphant success for Daniel Pemberton in this Spider-Verse sequel score, and I for one cannot wait to hear what he has in store for the third film.

Score: 9/10

Standout Cues: 5. Guggenheim Assemble/30. Falling Apart

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