Intro Song –

Underwater & River Rocket –

Alright, so this soundtrack is kinda diverting from this month’s theme of video games since this one is actually for a movie. BUT I did kinda start this month a week early with the Journey soundtrack, so I’m gonna break away and finish the month with something a little different ^^

Swiss Army Man (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) (2016), with music by Andy Hull and Robert McDowell. What a movie! And one that I believe would not nearly have had as strong of an impact without its sublime soundtrack to accompany it.

Hmm…how to describe Swiss Army Man? I feel like either my description would not accurately cover its weirdness, or it would be so detailed that it wouldn’t make any sense. Roughly speaking, the movie follows a stranded man lost on an island and a dead corpse of a man who possesses these rather unusual talents that allow him to be used like a “human Swiss army knife” (hence the title). If that doesn’t sound weird to you yet, things manage to get even more complicated as the movie progresses. Overall the film covers topics of loneliness, depression, social norms, and what it means to be alive. It does all of this through a rather surreal lens, while staying refreshingly humorous even during its more serious moments.

The movie’s music was written and performed by Andy Hull and Robert McDowell (with some additional vocal parts from the two main actors Paul Dano and Daniel Radcliffe). Andy and Robert are the singers/songwriters/guitarists that make up part of the Indie rock band Manchester Orchestra. For this soundtrack though, they were tasked with making and performing songs that only use vocal parts. This was to match the stranded nature of the main characters and allows the music to become part of the story itself. This isn’t just an accompanying film score, but music that the characters are making themselves to keep themselves occupied and sane. The often silly, sometimes sad, songs perfectly pair with the movie’s surreal imagery and gives it just the right amount of playfulness and imagination.

The soundtrack is a blast from start to finish, but I had to include with my picks at least the first track used in the intro sequence aptly titled “Intro Song”. The intro sequence for Swiss Army Man is one of my favorite movie intros as it perfectly sets the stage of what to expect from the dark, bizarre comedy-drama you’re about to watch. “Intro Song” gradually builds and layers more and more vocal parts on top of one another as the scene progresses before breaking out at its climax only to come crashing down in just the next moment.

The next track is actually two tracks that play back to back in the movie (as well as on the soundtrack). “Underwater” and “River Rocket” take place just after the midway highpoint of the film and go through a large variety of sounds. The scene features a variety of emotions from lonely sadness to triumphant happiness. Okay, I admit it, that sounded a little cheesy, but its definitely a scene that really revels in taking your emotions and giving them a good shakeup just because it can. This song actually uses a melody introduced earlier in the film as a lullaby that Paul Dano’s character can’t remember the lyrics to, so he constantly just makes up new words for it. That along with a few other tunes all wrapped up into these two tracks make for a complex song structure that is a real joy to listen to.

Swiss Army Man is definitely one of the films that I’ve seen that I cannot honestly suggest for everyone to see. I’m fully aware that it’ll just be “too weird” for most and its seems to target such a specific niche group as well. But if you’re interested in something a little odd and definitely pretty original, I can’t suggest it enough. The directors Daniel Scheinert and Daniel Kwan (commonly known as the “Daniels”) are known for directing music videos, and their excellent choice of music and placement for this movie is perfectly on cue.

One final note, this vinyl version of the soundtrack is once again another product from the creative house of iam8bit. While they do tend to focus on video game related material, they also feature a few movies and TV show items. This record was printed on a nice blue vinyl and contained several pop-out paper dolls and props from the movie that you can do with as you please. The second photo features the Dano and Radcliffe dolls that are included. It’s a rather fun and unusual design choice that excellently matches up with the feel and peculiarities of the film.