DIGITAL ALBUM REVIEW - RED HILL


Red Hill
Music by Dmitri Golovko
Milan Records
22 Tracks

Patrick Hughes became famous for his YouTube short film Signs, and here he makes his feature directorial debut with the Australian modern western Red Hill, which stars Ryan Kwanten of TV's True Blood fame.
The music for the film is provided by award-winning composer Dmitri Golovko, whose screen music could previously be heard in the TV advertising field, and for video games. He has collaborated on various projects with director Hughes (including Signs), but this too is his feature debut.
The score for Red Hill is largely an acoustic affair, written very much in the spare, modern style utilised in contemporary western fare, featuring the likes of guitars, mandolin, harmonica, percussion and piano. The opening title track carries much tension, but is followed by the pleasant, easy-going "Alice's Theme." There's a nice flow to "The Police Station," whilst "Skins Creek"and "Main Street" have more urgency to them. "The Shootout" features big and bad guitars and percussion, whilst "The Panther" is a fateful affair, and "Payback" suitably vengeful. A Spaghetti Western vibe is introduced in the likes of "Jimmy Returns," with its melancholy guitar solo and ominous rumblings, and the galloping "Shane's Theme," with its iconic trumpet solo. Everything culminates in the mournful strings of "The Finale."
In addition to Golovko's original score, there is an instrumental of "What a Friend We Have in Jesus," plus numbers by Stevie Wright and Charlie Parr.
You can download the Red Hill album from the likes of iTunes and Amazon.com, but if you'd like to check it out first, visit www.milanrecords.com/releases/releases.php?release_name_=RED_HILL, where you can first listen to some samples.