''X (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)'' is the

soundtrack A soundtrack is a recorded audio signal accompanying and synchronised to the images of a book, drama, motion picture, radio program, television show, television program, or video game; colloquially, a commercially released soundtrack album of m ...

to the 2022

slasher film A slasher film is a subgenre of horror films involving a killer or a group of killers stalking and murdering a group of people, usually by use of bladed or sharp tools. Although the term "slasher" may occasionally be used informally as a generic ...

of the same name written, directed, produced and edited by

Ti West Timon C. West (born October 5, 1980) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, editor, cinematographer, and actor, best known for his work in horror films. He directed the horror films ''The Roost'' (2005), ''Trigger Man (2007 film), ...

, starring

Mia Goth Mia Gypsy Mello da Silva Goth (born 25 October 1993) is an English actress. After modelling as a teenager, Goth made her acting debut in the erotic art film '' Nymphomaniac'' (2013). She earned recognition with the films '' A Cure For Wellness' ...

Jenna Ortega Jenna Marie Ortega (born September 27, 2002) is an American actress. She began her career as a child and received recognition for her role as a younger version of Jane Villanueva, Jane in The CW comedy-drama series ''Jane the Virgin'' (2014� ...

Martin Henderson Martin Henderson (born 8 October 1974) is a New Zealand actor. He is known for his roles on the American medical drama series '' Off the Map'' as Dr. Ben Keeton (2011), the medical drama series ''Grey's Anatomy'' as Dr. Nathan Riggs (2015–20 ...

Brittany Snow Brittany Anne Snow (born March 9, 1986) is an American actress. She came to prominence for her role in the CBS soap opera ''Guiding Light'' (1998–2001), for which she won a Young Artist Award for Best Young Actress and was nominated for two o ...

, Owen Campbell, Stephen Ure and Scott Mescudi. The album featured an original score composed by

Tyler Bates Tyler Bates (born June 5, 1965) is an American musician, music producer, and composer for film, television, and video game scores. Much of his work is in the action and horror film genres, with films like '' Dawn of the Dead'', ''300'', ''Suck ...

and

Chelsea Wolfe Chelsea Joy Wolfe (born November 14, 1983) is an American singer-songwriter and musician. Her work blends elements of gothic rock, doom metal, and folk music, folk. Growing up in Northern California with a country musician father, Wolfe began ...

which was released through A24 Music on March 25, 2022.

Development

''X'' marked Bates' second collaboration with West after he previously worked with the latter on ''The Sacrament'' (2013). Bates said that the pair intended to "create a vocal-centric score framed with organic

synthesizer A synthesizer (also synthesiser or synth) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis a ...

s and atmospheres that evoke a sonic aesthetic of '70s arthouse horror films". He then used the

wakka wakka Wakka Wakka, or Waka Waka, people are an Aboriginal Australian people of the state of Queensland. Name "''Wakka''" was assigned the meaning "no" by Western linguists who documented the Wakawaka language. Ethnonyms based on the duplication of t ...

guitars as another substantial component to the score, that provided a propulsive element to the disturbing scenes. Wolfe, who had not soundtracked a film before, primarily contributed her voice to the score, and attempted to use non-singing sounds to emulate the character's emotions. Bates compared the score to that somewhere between that of '' Debbie Does Dallas'' and ''Rosemary's Baby''.

Release

The soundtrack album was released on March 25, 2022, by A24 Music. It was preceded by a cover version of "

Oui, Oui, Marie Oui, Oui, Marie is a 1918 song composed by Fred Fisher with lyrics written by Alfred Bryan (lyricist), Alfred Bryan and Joseph McCarthy (lyricist), Joe McCarthy. It was published by McCarthy & Fisher Inc. The sheet music cover featured an illustra ...

" performed by Wolfe, which was released as a digital single on March 11, 2022.

Additional music

The film incorporates a number of songs from the 1960s and 1970s, including "

In the Summertime "In the Summertime" is the debut single by British rock band Mungo Jerry, released in 1970. It reached number one in charts around the world, including seven weeks on the UK Singles Chart, two weeks at number one on the Canadian charts, and ...

" by

Mungo Jerry Mungo Jerry (formerly known as Mungo Jerry Blues Band) are a British rock band formed by Ray Dorset in Ashford, Middlesex, in 1970. Experiencing their greatest success in the early 1970s, with a changing line-up always fronted by Dorset, the ...

, "

Act Naturally "Act Naturally" is a song written by Johnny Russell, with a writing credit given to Voni Morrison and publishing rights transferred to Buck Owens. It was originally recorded by Buck Owens and the Buckaroos, whose version reached number one on ...

" by

Loretta Lynn Loretta Lynn (; April 14, 1932 – October 4, 2022) was an American country music singer and songwriter. In a career spanning six decades, Lynn released multiple gold albums. She had numerous hits such as "Hey Loretta", "The Pill (song), The P ...

, and "

(Don't Fear) The Reaper "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" is a song by American rock band Blue Öyster Cult from the 1976 album '' Agents of Fortune.'' The song, written and sung by lead guitarist Donald "Buck Dharma" Roeser, deals with eternal love and the inevitability ...

" by

Blue Öyster Cult Blue Öyster Cult ( ; sometimes abbreviated BÖC or BOC) is an American rock band formed on Long Island, New York, in the hamlet of Stony Brook, in 1967. They have sold 25 million records worldwide, including 7 million in the United States. ...

. Additionally, one scene in the film features Jackson ( Scott Mescudi) and Bobby-Lynne (

) performing "

Landslide Landslides, also known as landslips, rockslips or rockslides, are several forms of mass wasting that may include a wide range of ground movements, such as rockfalls, mudflows, shallow or deep-seated slope failures and debris flows. Landslides ...

" by

Fleetwood Mac Fleetwood Mac are a British-American Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1967 by the singer and guitarist Peter Green (musician), Peter Green. Green named the band by combining the surnames of the drummer, Mick Fleetwood, and the bassis ...

, with the former playing acoustic guitar and the latter providing vocals.

Critical reception

Justin Lockwood of ''

Bloody Disgusting Bloody Disgusting is an American independent multi-media company, which began as a horror genre-focused news website specializing in information services that covered various horror media. The company expanded into other media including podcast ...

'' wrote "Bates and Wolfe have created a unique musical tapestry befitting such a rich and unique cinematic experience." Matt Donato of ''

/Film ''/Film'', also spelled ''SlashFilm'', is a blog that covers movie news, reviews, interviews, and trailers. It was founded by Peter Sciretta in August 2005. The site's reviews appear on Rotten Tomatoes, and as of 2024, two of its leading film cr ...

'' wrote "Tyler Bates and Chelsea Wolfe's disquieting score scampers with chaotic freneticism". Patrick Cavanaugh of ''

ComicBook.com ''ComicBook.com'' is an entertainment website that offers news in the fields of comic books, television, films, video games, and anime. The site came online in 1996 serving as a holding page for sales links and press releases related to comic b ...

'' wrote "While Bates was able to lay a foundation to establish the mood and atmosphere of the picture by establishing an era-appropriate base level, Wolfe's more haunting and ethereal vocal contributions elevate the discordant elements of the score while never fully plunging us into darkness."

Track listing

References

{{authority control 2022 soundtrack albums Tyler Bates soundtracks Chelsea Wolfe albums A24 Music soundtracks X (film series)