Zanobard Reviews

James Newton Howard’s Ballad Of Songbirds & Snakes score reprises those classic Hunger Games motifs you know and love and… that’s about it really. Save one or two thunderous moments and a half-decent though sadly underutilised theme for Lucy Gray Baird, there just isn’t much else to remark about.

The Ballad Of Songbirds & Snakes begins with “The Dark Days”; in a tonal manner much akin to that of the track’s title, moody swathes of strings and ominous woodwinds start off the score, with rapid crashes of brass then briefly surging into action territory before the music dies quietly down again with the cue ending on an almost mournful string note a minute later. “Anthem: Gem Of Panem” then bolsters the mood significantly however, with the music being suddenly awash with bright orchestral colours as fanfare-esque brass and crashes of marching percussion thunder triumphantly through for the track’s sadly short forty second runtime. The first taste of James Newton Howard’s classic Hunger Games sound then moves optimistically through in “Coryo In The Capital” as a section of the Mockingjay theme plays loudly and grandiosely in a short but otherwise enjoyable rendition. Some rather medieval-sounding instrumentation then takes centre stage in the first half of “Assigning The Mentors”, with rather sorrowful vocals arriving in the back half and building to a particularly worrisome crescendo. A new, six-note and rather solemn theme then debuts at the start of “Meet The Mentor”, likely for Lucy Gray Baird, before further stylistic sections from the original Hunger Games scores then creep back into the fray towards the end of the track.

Sejanus Plinth gets a quietly mournful piano and strings-based motif in the two-minute “Sejanus”, before “Hunger Is A Weapon” then reprises the gentle medieval-sounding instrumentation from “Assigning The Mentors” in a similarly downtrodden manner. The next few tracks then delve deep into quietly atmospheric territory before Lucy’s now rather hopeful six-note motif reprises in the minute-long “Saving Snow” on higher-pitched strings and wistful vocals. The first proper taste of action comes in the three minute “Happy Hunger Games”, with increasingly worrisome strings opening the track before frenetic bursts of brass then supercharge the pace accompanied by thunderous crashes of drums. “Mercy” opens almost serenely with mysterious-sounding piano and string notes sounding through before Sejanus’ quietly solemn motif then gently reprises, followed by a few similarly downtrodden notes from the Mockingjay theme. Worried strings then play through “Cut The Feed” together with similarly moody piano notes, with a serene ambience cascading in the subsequent “Open The Gate” and “Powerful” cues on quietly solemn vocals, piano and strings. Tense action then returns in “Afraid Of Water” and “Drone Attack”, with rapid bursts of brass and frequent crashes of drums setting a frenetic pace through both tracks.

The Mockingjay theme returns in full force “Under The Flag”, playing mournfully at first on quiet strings before then briefly erupting in a rather grand (though still rather morose) display on loud brass and worried vocals. Said vocals then reach a rather emphatic crescendo in “Get Her Out” with the full orchestra roaring to spellbinding effect at the two minute mark followed by another crashing playthrough of the Mockingjay motif to close the cue. The tone of the score turns rather sorrowful in “The Sound Of Snow”, with low-pitched strings and foreboding piano notes emphasizing this moody switch throughout the two minute piece. The quietly melancholic medieval-sounding instrumentation from earlier then reprises in “You Are Safe”, with the dissonant atmosphere from the Mockingjay theme playing quietly alongside said instrumentation in the subsequent “Trust Is Everything”. Full notes from said theme then play ominously towards the end of “I Can’t Stay Here”. The mood then turns tense and almost horror-like though in “Lucy?”, with high-pitched strings taking point for much of the first half until sombre vocals and serene strings take over, playing Lucy Gray’s quietly gentle theme one final time.

With the score now pushing toward a close the serene “The Woods” picks up where “Lucy?” leaves off in tone for another quietly ambient minute, with “Change Of Plan” also following similarly suit with gently ethereal vocals. The final two tracks of the score then bring it full circle, with a moodily malevolent reprisal of President Snow’s theme from the original Hunger Games scores playing in the first few seconds of “Passed The Tests” as Coriolanus steps ever closer to his destiny in the film. The theme continues in its quietly victorious manner for much of the three minute track, with “Snow Lands On Top” reprising Sejanus’ quietly mournful three-note motif one last time to start and then closing the score overall on a grander note as the full orchestra returns for a final appearance of the Mockingjay theme. Separate to the score, the album then closes with three piano-based playthroughs of James Newton Howard’s Hunger Games themes in “Friendship”, “Rue’s Farewell” and “Victor”, all played by pianist Yuja Wang.

Overall, James Newton Howard’s score for The Hunger Games: The Ballad Of Songbirds & Snakes is honestly just… more of the same, really. The darkly morose tone of his four Hunger Games scores is very much present throughout this new album, as are thematic elements as the Mockingjay theme reprises at several poignant intervals (see “Mercy” and “Snow Lands On Top”), so if you enjoyed those scores and are simply looking for more of exactly that, then you will probably like this one too. I myself am a little underwhelmed at Songbirds though (despite liking the original Hunger Games scores) simply because I was hoping the composer would just do a bit more with it. The reprisals of the original themes are nice but there isn’t a massive amount in the way of new material, and what little there is is disappointingly unremarkable (save perhaps Lucy Gray’s gentle though sadly underutilised six-note motif anyway – see “Meet The Mentor” or “Saving Snow”) . There are also not really any properly standout cues to make the slower tracks worth it either – no bombastic action track like “Air Raid Drill” or “Sewer Attack” from the Mockingjay films, nor a poignant emotional point a la “Rue’s Farewell” – just a couple of decent moments here and there (like the frenetic midsection of “Happy Hunger Games” or the finale of “Get Her Out”). As such, all-in Songbirds is just kinda… underwhelming really, which is a shame.

Some nice moments, but nothing you haven’t really heard before in other Hunger Games entries.

Score: 6.5/10

Standout Cues: 26. Get Her Out/37. Snow Lands On Top

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