Track Listing
Opening Scene – Jose “Pepe” Ojeda
Mona’s Imprint – Jose “Pepe” Ojeda
More That Makes Us Human – Mark Kilian
I Should Have Died Too – Mark Kilian
Mapping Sequence – Jose “Pepe” Ojeda
Zoe Redux – Mark Kilian
Boat Abduction – Mark Kilian
I’ll Delete Her – Mark Kilian
They’re on the Move – Jose “Pepe” Ojeda
Deleting Zoe – Mark Kilian
Breakfast – Mark Kilian
They’re a Foot Taller – Jose “Pepe” Ojeda
Only Three Pods – Mark Kilian
Pod Calculations – Mark Kilian
Why Are You Stuck on That? – Jose “Pepe” Ojeda
Mona Wakes Up – Mark Kilian
Social Media Catchup – Mark Kilian
Zoe Packup – Mark Kilian
I’m Not Ready – Jose “Pepe” Ojeda
Jones Redux – Mark Kilian
New Donor – Mark Kilian
Who Am I? – Jose “Pepe” Ojeda
Unicorn Goes Home – Mark Kilian
Bill Has Pneumonia – Jose “Pepe” Clarke
We’ve Been Looking in the Wrong Place – Mark Kilian
Ed Is Dead – Mark Kilian
Something’s Wrong – Jose “Pepe” Ojeda
Self Map – Mark Kilian
Bill’s Imprint – Jose “Pepe” Ojeda
What Would You Have Done? – Mark Kilian
Jones Knows – Jose “Pepe” Ojeda
End Credits – Jose “Pepe” Ojeda
I Will Live Forever – Rick Garcia & Liela Avila
I Know It’s Going to Work (Varien Remix) – Jose “Pepe” Ojeda
Split between two composers, the soundtrack to Replicas is an atmospheric, sci-fi influenced blend of ambience and synths. Unlike the movie itself, Replicas’ soundtrack is surprisingly moving, managing to convey a good rhythm and pacing through a series of tense blasts of action-driven tracks and slower, piano-dominated choruses. A clever use of motif throughout gives Replicas a consistency sorely lacking from the movie and although it is used a little too much late on, the score itself does a good job conveying the emotions the film really should have conveyed.
For the most part, the track placement follows a logical pattern, rising and falling through many of the film’s beats, ending with the only vocal track, I Will Live Forever, which crops up during the final credits. Aside from this, the rest of the instrumental soundtrack follows a steady path through the film’s plot which at times offsets the rhythm of the score. A slow, melodic track will suddenly be followed up by a sudden rush of violins and drums that can feel a little jarring at times.
Still, the two composers work surprisingly well together and it’s difficult to tell the difference between the two as you listen to the 34 track album. Picking out the different pieces composed by Jose “Pepe” Clarke there’s a slightly more synthetic edge to these tracks, making use of a stronger dose of echo and bass. To be honest though, the changes are subtle at best and hardly noticeable. Most tracks build on the same sort of tone, with the action-driven pieces kept as seperate tracks rather than built up to a crescendo during the same song. This actually works quite well although those after a more steady progression into the adrenaline-fuelled segments may be left wanting.
It’s not perfect and personally I still think Channel 4’s series Humans manages to nail the robotic synth-driven feel of the score better but Replicas is still a decent effort. There’s much more of a big-room feel to this soundtrack and the blend of action-driven pieces with slower, piano-charged melodies does well to accentuate the snippets of synth sounds layered throughout. It’s just a shame the film itself fails to inspire the same level of competency this score achieves.
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Verdict - 7/10
7/10