Let's Eat Grandma's
Rosa Walton and
Jenny Hollingworth are part of a generation of musicians whose outside projects are as authentic as anything that appears on their own albums. Their youthful bravery, camaraderie, and experimentation are a perfect fit for the soundtrack to
Half Bad: The Bastard Son & the Devil Himself, Netflix's adaptation of
Sally Green's book series about warring factions of witches who live amongst humans. Writer Joe Barton and director
Colm McCarthy worked closely with
Let's Eat Grandma during the show's development, using their music in mood boards before filming and creating scenes organically around
Hollingworth and
Walton's compositions. It's an unusual creative process, but an effective one:
Half Bad dives deeper into the dark whimsy of the duo's first album,
I, Gemini, while matching the series' visual wizardry. Though
Let's Eat Grandma's score sounds nothing like the music for another adaptation of a popular young adult book series dealing with witchcraft, the sense of
Half Bad's world, moods, and characters is just as strong. "Kicking Up Dust"'s glowing ambience and decaying rhythms thrum with magical potential; the creaky, double-jointed melody, choral vocals, and mandolin on "Rhythmic Creatures 2" embody the mischief and menace of the story's universe; and the warped synth strings and eerie flute on "Mercury's Theme" cast a spell effortlessly.
Let's Eat Grandma's emphasis on electronics adds a welcome freshness and element of surprise to
Half Bad: The Bastard Son & the Devil Himself. On cues such as "Mouse Feet," the stair-stepping arpeggios and blobby synth bass resemble the music from a sci-fi thriller like
Ex Machina rather than a typical fantasy score. Here and on the plinking "Money Spiders" -- which strikes a mood somewhere between
the Brothers Grimm and
Philip K. Dick --
Half Bad recalls artists such as
Clark in its contrast of haunted melodies and aggressive tones and rhythms.
Walton and
Hollingworth capture the power of first love just as vividly with "Wanted You to Share It"'s 1980s-meets-2020s synth pop drama and the aptly named "Skin Shimmers," a track that suggests
New Order in a rainstorm.
Let's Eat Grandma uncover just as much range within the score's motifs, most notably its main theme. "Half Bad" plunges listeners into the project's futuristic fairy-tale world, but it becomes increasingly somber each time it returns.
Half Bad: The Bastard Son & the Devil Himself remains true to
Let's Eat Grandma's artistic vision while revealing more layers to their music -- and it's impressive enough in its own right to win over soundtrack fans who haven't heard the duo's other work. ~ Heather Phares
![Half Bad: The Bastard Son & the Devil Himself [Original Soundtrack]](http://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/5400863099381_p0_v2_s90x140.jpg)
![Half Bad: The Bastard Son & the Devil Himself [Original Soundtrack]](http://img.images-bn.com/static/redesign/srcs/images/grey-box.png?v12.9.1)
![Half Bad: The Bastard Son & the Devil Himself [Original Soundtrack]](http://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/5400863099381_p0_v2_s600x595.jpg)
