Bugonia, Jacob’s Ladder, Swiped and more

Making up this batch of under-the-radar gems are one new electronic score, a couple of orchestral ones and a new release of Maurice Jarre’s absorbing Jacob’s Ladder (1990).

Bugonia (Jerskin Fendrix, 2025)

The idiosyncratic Greek director Yorgos Lanthimos turns to the English composer Jerskin Fendrix once again, for this spaced-out kidnapping/alien conspiracy story starring Emma Stone and Jesse Plemons. While Fendrix’s previous work for the director on Poor Things (2023) and Kinds of Kindness (2024) displayed a highly experimental landscape, this is slightly (but only slightly) more accessible. Composed for a reasonably sized orchestra, and recorded “dry”, it breathes and heaves in impressionistic, Ravel-ian tone clusters (or alternately more whimsical, dissonant structures, a nod to Les Six, perhaps?), alluding both to the film’s black comedy tone, as well as the story’s grander, mythological scope. It goes from cautious to operatic in a second. Certainly the most interesting and hypnotizing score to a Lanthimos film so far. Favourite tracks: «Bees», «Basement», «Saliva Antifreeze»

Swiped (Chanda Dancy, 2025)

Computer/tech-centered films and TV shows seem blessed with fine electronic scores in recent years, and this another example. Swiped is a fictionalized story (available on Hulu) about the real-life dating app Bumble and its founder Whitney Wolfe Herd. Chanda Dancy is a supremely versatile composer who is equally at ease with orchestral stylings as she is electronic, with a wide range of influences. For this score, she taps into her interest for EDM with bubbly, melodic synths, sometimes settling into grooves (sadly, several of the tracks are too short to properly settle), but often more explorative textures, especially a minor-moded two-note chord progression, somewhat Zimmer-inspired in tone(?), that seems to be its dramatic core. It’s all very appealing. Favourite tracks: «First Day at Hatch Labs», «Newest Co-Founder», «Leaked DNA»

Moi qui t’amais (Philippe Sarde, 2025)

This is a French romantic-biographical drama, yet to make a mark on the international scene, about the relationship between film legends Yves Montand and Simone Signoret. The music is by veteran composer (and a legend in his own right) Philippe Sarde, who still keeps busy at 77, despite occasional health issues. As is often the case in Sarde’s work, there is reuse of his previous themes, primarily among them the 1972 film Hellé. That being said, it’s still a warm blanket of a score – beautifully bucolic, with elegant chamber writing for strings, piano and woodwinds. It’s a callback to a different era entirely, which is in line with the film’s story. A haunting score that easily breezes by at 32 minutes. Favourite tracks:«Hellé (Le monde nous a changé)», «Simone», «Les choses de la vie»

An Shârî [Anne Shirley] (Michiru Ōshima, 2025)

Michiru Ōshima is an unheralded gem of Japanese film music (read Mark Burgess’ tribute article on Celluloid Tunes here), who constantly delivers tuneful orchestral music when required. So is the case for this 24-episode anime series, based on Lucy Maud Montgomery’s famous Anne of Green Gables novels (many of us have a nostalgic relationship to the US TV series version from the 80s). Treading carefully, with eyes-wide-open curiousity, it’s a pastoral affair – a lot happening in the upper register of the orchestra – that captures the coming-of-age aspects beautifully, occasionally nurturing “folksier” elements. While the soundtrack is on the long side with its 93 minutes across two discs, there are many highlights from which to whittle. Favourite tracks: «Dreaming Anne», «Gentle Morning Light», «The Shape of Connection», «Fly, My Heart, to the Sky»

Kaamelott – Deuxième volet [Partie 1] (Alexandre Astier, 2025)

French actor, director and composer (and more) Alexandre Astier, whose ambitious Camelot project based on the famous Arthurian legend has grown from shortform TV vignettes to longform feature films over the last two decades, presents the second entry of his film saga. He very much builds on the themes he wrote for the first film in 2020, with a combination of impressionism and traditional romantic excursions befitting the fantasy genre. That score was released on Deutsche Grammophon, no less, and so is this. Scored for a medium-sized orchestra, Astier gets bang for his buck as he lets loose growling brass , chorus or mysterioso strings across its nicely-curated 33 minutes. Favourite tracks: «Marche vers la Carmélide», «Réouverture après travaux», «L’aube des départs»

Where the Wind Blows (Jason & Nolan Livesay, 2025)

Not to be confused with the Roger Waters-scored animation film When the Wind Blows (1986), this western love story seems rather glossy at first glance. But the score by twin brothers Jason Livesay and Nolan Livesay has old-school depth, as it taps into those broad Americana strokes that defined 90s classics such as James Horner’s Legends of the Fall (1995) or Mark Isham’s A River Runs Through It (1992) – i.e. a large orchestral canvas coloured by twangy fiddles and guitars, and a central theme to carry it along. Certain static cues could have been weeded out in the one-hour presentation for more succinct flow, but overall an impressive solo effort by the duo that so far has made its mark by working for other, bigger composers. Favourite tracks: «Main Title», «Fatal Card Game & Arriving At Jessie’s», «Finale»

Jacob’s Ladder (Maurice Jarre, [1990] 2025)

Unlike his son Jean Michel, Maurice Jarre’s occasional dabbling in synths was hit and miss, but one of the definite hits was Adrian Lyne’s psychedelic cult horror classic Jacob’s Ladder, with its dark, sensous, surprisingly melodic approach to the material, augmented by middle eastern sonorities and voices. In fact, it’s my favourite Jarre score bar none. The great benefit of the original soundtrack from 1990 was its organization into five long, suite-like tracks that turned everything into a darkly romantic tone poem. Thankfully, the new release by La-La Land Records retains that programme, but also expands it with the actual film cues. There isn’t really anything in the film cues that adds to the experience, and it hurts the overall impression of the work by “chopping it up” with more abstract unease, but for fans of the film and score – and for those who don’t already own the OST – it’s well worth your while. Favourite tracks: «High Fever», «The Ladder»