Oliver Coates – Aftersun OST

Soundtracks are admittedly rare here, mainly because it’s difficult for me to judge whether they can stand on their own at the time of release. The main exception at the moment is Micah Levi, but Oliver Coates also qualifies in this category with his score for »Aftersun«. Rarely have I heard a soundtrack that is so ambivalent about the feelings of its two protagonists without making them too explicit (the great Bowie/Queen finale notwithstanding). The fact that Coates was working on a film here – the punchline of which knocked me out cold – certainly helps, but my goodness, that bloody cello hits a different note.