Stieg Larsson’s tale is now part of the fabric of modern literature, but what is less well known is that the original Swedish title of his first book in the Millennium trilogy is Män som hatar kvinnor, or 'Men Who Hate Women'. Fincher and Reznor seem to be more aware of this entitling to the multi-layered detective story and together with Ross, Trent has created a soundtrack that balances this precarious battle of the sexes wonderfully, pitching thudding, arpeggiated and menacing synths against delicate, organic instrumentation, dressing the amalgam with cold impartiality. Reznor has joked that the content of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is far more “up his street” than the story of The Social Network, and by God he was right: Reznor & Ross have captured the atmosphere of Lisbeth Salander’s struggle to exist in her brutal reality and blended it with the Vanger Family Mystery with seemingly effortless ability. That this soundtrack can wash over you and provide the noise to your thoughts is testament to its overwhelming power. Blomkvist’s measured, well-researched and deep-thinking approach to his task is reflected in the soundtrack’s gradual, overpowering swell towards a conclusion, layers building upon layers as the male protagonist uncovers the truth, overloading the senses with a wall of atmospheric noise pierced only momentarily by the lightest hint of a piano chord. The wealth of information Blomkvist is dealing with is reflected in the sound.
To comment upon any individual track within this sprawling opus would be folly; this work should be listened to as a whole. There are, therefore, no standout tracks, for this is a soundtrack. Whilst it is undeniable that particular moments of this 3-hour movement are phenomenal, if you are diving into the soundtrack looking to pick out one particular track, you’re listening in all the wrong ways. That said, much has been made of the two tracks included in this soundtrack that are not pure instrumentation: Reznor and Karen O’s cover of Led Zeppelin’s Immigrant Song and How to Destroy Angels’ cover of Bryan Ferry’s Is Your Love Strong Enough? Initial intrigue aside however, these are the weakest tracks on the album. Exciting though it may be to hear How to Destroy Angels for the first time since their debut EP, the track itself fails to strike a chord within the context of this soundtrack. The overall “sound” of the track fits, yet after so much ambience and gentle percussion Maandig Reznor’s vocals are almost too harsh a contrast for the final track of the album (which is ironic, given how softly and beautifully she sings). That's of course not so much a problem with the song as much as it is with its positioning within the album. The major gripe with the song itself however is that it sounds vaguely akin to Fragile-era NIN while lacking the dread, anxiety, and general oomph of the period. Moments of it are great, and Reznor’s teasing background vocals make me crave hearing his voice again although I hope to hear much more from How to Destroy Angels' debut LP in the first quarter of 2012. The cover of Immigrant Song on the other hand excites in a way evocative of that now-cherished U2 rework: it's pounding, hard, heavy and loud. However it's too short: it feels rushed, desperate to excite, and somewhat token. Reznor and Karen O have done a superlative job of covering a song that should be uncoverable (again, see Zoo Station), and it's a mind-blowingly better effort than Leona Lewis’ attempt to cover Hurt (Jesus Christ, don't get me started on her act of po-faced sacrilege), but once again I’m not sure it fits the soundtrack. It was impressive in combination with the teaser trailer for the film released a while ago, but as the opening salvo to a soundtrack that then goes on to become increasingly delicate, introspective and beautiful, it once again feels extraneous.
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo represents the best film soundtrack released this year, and possibly its best instrumental album (soundtrack or otherwise) as well, and it's both striking and staggering to experience. If Reznor and Ross received an Academy Award for their work on The Social Network I'll be stunned if they are not remunerated with praise and gold three times over for this soundtrack. Not only is it more coherent and more of a “soundtrack” in the conventional sense, but it is a sumptuous feast of atmosphere and sterility; warmth and cold; love and hate. This recording is so complete that it cannot be dislocated from the story to which it provides music: the soundtrack reflects the story and vice versa and, in doing so, achieves its reason for being perfectly.
Ben Cousens.
