It's actually a bit surprising, since you'd usually only hear this music from the ending credits of the show. Normally, the song played at the end speaks pretty directly to the contents of the episode. Somebody died? There's going to be a song about death. And with all the on and off romances in the show, a lot of the songs speak about love in some way. But somehow listening to this soundtrack really frees the music from those kind of literal confines.
Of course, when you can hear the whole song, and not just a short snippet during credits, it shows how full of depth they are. There's no bubblegum pop here, so they naturally excel in the lyrics department. But there's just a lot of depth to the sound as well. You'll have a song like "Paradise Circus" by Massive Attack, which is rather light and ethereal with a rhythm like a slow heartbeat, followed by the rather booming, brass and piano room-filling sounds of "And When I Die" by The Heavy. There are classics that are never going to be out of place like "Spellbound" by Siouxsie and the Banshees, and fresh covers of similar classics like "She's Not There" and "Season of the Witch." Then there are songs like "Me and the Devil" by Gil Scott-Heron that simply meld two styles of old and new music to create even more cohesion between the soundtrack's varied songs.
Overall, this soundtrack makes me want to sit out on my deck, grab a beer, and enjoy. A lot of it is very blues like, very soulful, which is very much fitting to the Louisiana setting. At times, the soundtrack races enough to be exciting, then makes you want to dance for a bit, and then slows down enough to give you a break. It's like a good night in New Orleans. Very fitting.
Tracklist:
1. Season Of The Witch - Karen Elson and Donovan
2. Me And The Devil - Gil Scott-Heron
3. Te Ni Nee Ni Nu - Slim Harpo
4. She's Not There - Neko Case and Nick Cave
5. Hitting The Ground - PJ Harvey and Gordon Gano
6. Spellbound - Siouxsie and the Banshees
7. 9 Crimes (Demo) - Damien Rice
8. Cold Grey Light Of Dawn - Nick Lowe
9. Hell's Bells - Cary Ann Hearst
10. Gonna Be A Darkness - Jakob Dylan and Gary Louris
11. What You Do To Me - BlakRoc
12. Paradise Circus - Massive Attack
13. And When I Die - The Heavy
14. Bad Things - Jace Everett
15. Bad Things - Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
16. She's Not There - Dick Isreal and The Soothsayer
17. She's Not There - L'Avventura
18. She's Not There - Paper Pilots
