CD REVIEW - TOXIC


Toxic
Music by Scott Glasgow
MovieScore Media MMS-09021
23 Tracks 46:42 mins

Alan Pao's action thriller Toxic, which numbers Susan Ward and Tom Sizemore amongst its cast has been scored by Scott Glasgow, whose scores for Chasing Ghosts and Hack! have both previously been released by MovieScore Media.
Largely synthetically scored, Glasgow does however also perform piano and guitar, and calls upon the services of live players Caroline Kung (flute), Kate Green (oboe), together with vocalist Melissa R. Kaplan.
The nervy electronics of "The Psychic" get the album underway, leading to the thunderous percussion of "Rooftop Chase," which was actually composed by MSM's own Mikael Carlsson. The plaintive sound of flute and oboe comes as a complete contrast at the start of "Ghost Story," before the cue descends into suitable eeriness. A techno beat introduces "Duality," but the cue quickly descends into cacophony, then ticks along quietly to its conclusion. "Lucille" has a mysterious eastern quality about it; "The Accident" continuing in the same vein. "Kitchen Fight" offers more powerful percussion, followed by the brief poignant piano of "Saving Sid's Job."
Piano features again at the start of "Nadia Talks to Angel;" the cue ending in a wailing ethnic vocal. "Haunted by a Young Girl" opens with supernatural eeriness, before piano closes out the track. "Van Sant's Phone Call" is another beat-driven cue, which leads to the brief piano and oboe sadness of "Crying." "Touching Shower" presents another intimate moment for piano and synths; the eastern influence returning for "Hooking," but giving way again to piano and synths for "Hiding Lucille."
"Angel's Death" offers much frightening dissonance, with the flute, piano and oboe of "Consolation" offering some relief. "Lucille Breaks Through" builds suspensefully to more frightening dissonance. The longest cue on the album, "A Crack in Reality" follows, becoming more and more eerie and dissonant as it goes on, turning briefly rocky, before threatening a powerful climax that in fact just fades away.
The first genuinely sunny music comes in "There Can Be Only One," with almost spiritual synth strings dominating, before piano breaks the mood and leads us to an unsettling conclusion. After the dissonant climax of "Transmogrification," a brief reprise of the "Ghost Story" opening concludes the score on a melodic note.
Available on CD, or as a download, go to www.moviescoremedia.com/toxic.html for samples and ordering details.