Six Feet Under:Everything Ends Vol.2

Tue 12th Jul, 2005 in Music Reviews

Anyone who’s a fan of the Six Feet Under series (or even someone who’s just stumbled across it once or twice) would know that the show simply wouldn’t have the same impact without the eerie music. Of course, the acting and script-writing is impeccable (acknowledged by the countless Golden Globe awards it has received), but the combination of both sound and screen is what really brings this show to life — or, perhaps more appropriately, death. (For those completely unfamiliar with the show, it revolves around the lives of the members of the Fisher family, who run a Los Angeles funeral home.)

This soundtrack (entitled Everything Ends) includes bands that many of us have come to know and love — including Interpol, Coldplay, Phoenix, Radiohead and Arcade Fire. The soundtrack even boasts four songs that have been exclusively written for the show (or that only appear on this release). The songs were apparently personally selected for the recording by the show’s musical supervisors, Gary Calamar and Thomas Golubic. The pair have created a worthy follow-up to the original soundtrack (which featured the likes of the Beta Band, Lamb, PJ Harvey and the Dandy Warhols).

The opening track is Nina Simone’s Feelin’ Good, which seems to be very much in its rightful place. Those who aren’t familiar with Nina Simone’s work may recall the track covered by Muse several years ago. The inclusion of this track almost sets the tone for those which are to follow. The track is almost haunting, containing only Simone’s beautiful voice.

Everything is Everything — arguably the song that launched Phoenix to international fame — is one of the stand-outs, as is Radiohead’s Lucky. Many will have a soft-spot for the Interpol track — after all, with only two albums released so far by the band, any bonuses are welcome (even if the song is a tad repetitive)! Another interesting track is Jem’s Amazing Life, although her voice does tend to mimic that of Dido’s a little too closely.

All in all, the various songs attempt to (and, for the most part, succeed in) encapsulating the mood and very essence of the Six Feet Under show. Although one or two bands may not cater to everyone’s tastes, none of the tracks are so awful that you want to skip through them. As an album in itself, this release is very listenable.

Despite the fact that this soundtrack is better than most on the market (where we tend to like only a small handful of tracks), its release marks a quite sombre time for fans as well. This is likely to be the last Six Feet Under soundtrack produced, as many of the exclusive tracks were written to feature and the fifth — and final — season of the program (hence the title of the soundtrack). At least we can say that they have undoubtedly left us on a good note, with these soundtracks providing us with musical snippets to fuel our memories of one of the greatest television shows in recent years.