Spring Breakers (Music from the Motion Picture) is the soundtrack to the 2012 film "Spring Breakers", released through Big Beat Records and Warner Records on March 19, 2013. The album consisted of an original score jointly composed by Skrillex and Cliff Martinez along with songs from electronic dance and southern hip hop artists.
Development.
Cliff Martinez was recommended to Korine by the film's editor Douglas Crise who edited much of his themes as placeholder in the film. During their interaction, Korine said to Martinez, "Forget about the script. The script is just a starting point. You have to see the film." He eventually watched the film during the edit and agreed to be a part of the film. Korine sent links of Skrillex's songs to music supervisor Randall Poster. Several of his songs were included in the film, which Martinez described that he came onboard much before his involvement. He was instrumental in Skrillex being involved as he needed a trance-like experience to the film and his music being representative of that, and further added that beside the pop elements, his music also had a "bombastic and brutal electronic aspect". Despite, Skrillex's busy schedule, Korine interacted with the former through FaceTime discussing the musical process and eventually agreed on his involvement. Skrillex and Martinez jointly wrote the film's incidental music and provided dramatic underscore, despite their distinctive approaches and styles on electronic music. James Franco performed a rap portion for the film's original song "Hangin' with Da Dopeboys".
Release.
The track list of the film's soundtrack was first revealed through "IndieWire" magazine on February 18, 2013. It was exclusively made available for online streaming on March 6, 2013 through "Pitchfork", prior to the digital distribution on March 12 and through CDs on March 19. The soundtrack released through Warner Music Group's Big Beat Records.
Critical reception.
The review aggregator website Metacritic assigned "Spring Breakers (Music from the Motion Picture)", a score of 68 out of 100, indicating "generally favorable reviews".
In a 3.5-star review, David Jeffries of AllMusic described the soundtrack as "a weird and wonderful set, as hyped-up, hallucinatory, and hot as the film that either oozed or sweated it out". Writing for "Consequence of Sound", Amanda Kollner assigned a "C−" score to the album, stating "The album marries moments of both excess and restraint, and the dance between Skrillex and Martinez makes the ebb and flow of the music match that of the plot: a successful score." Benjamin Boles of "Now" wrote "The contrast between the adrenaline rushes and nihilistic machismo and the score’s cold serenity is strangely intoxicating."
Corban Goble of "Pitchfork" assigned 7.6 (out of 10) to the album, summarising "Given its relatively seamless mesh of spiky, aggro party music and the more contemplative electronic moments created by Martinez and Moore, Spring Breakers is the rare soundtrack that covers both extremes and makes it work as a whole." Adam Lukach of "RedEye" gave three out of four stars, describing the music as "a whimsical post-rock aesthetic that descends into mayhem and gloom at opportune moments". Jon Dolan of "Rolling Stone" described the album as "refined, minimalist, often quite lovely and even chiller than Trent Reznor's "Social Network" score". Sean Daly of "Tampa Bay Times" called the album as a "mesmerising mix". Ron Harris of "San Diego Union-Tribune" called it as "a decent soundtrack and a good sampler of what the spring break set is doing".
A critic from "Vice" described the film's soundtrack as the best trap album for the mainstream audience, further stating that "This movie and soundtrack both have a vested interest in rap culture, but given trap music's tendency to indulge and borrow from actual rap culture, the prominent placement of trap rap-aping white dudes feels appropriate." Scott Interrante of "PopMatters" also opined on the use of trap music in the film, while also summarising "The various ways the music is employed throughout the film helps confuse, disorient, or ground us, and the play between diegetic and non-diegetic music brings us in and out of the characters’ perspective, all amounting to a wonderfully unsettling, intriguing, and unforgettable experience."
References.
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