deadmau5 - Polar (Music from the Netflix Film)

deadmau5
Polar (Music from the Netflix Film)
2019
Spotify

With his volume of work it's kind of impressive that this is the first soundtrack that deadmau5 has ever scored. His music, whether you like it or not, has a sort of cinematic feel to it, growing and shifting depending on the mood He tries to cultivate. This record however is not as simple of an endeavor as you might imagine for the veteran DJ. His music is often big and bold, standing right in front of you and daring you to recon with it. In your face is not something you want in a soundtrack, you want it to slip behind the images, making them shine, but not overtaking them. Sure we can punctuate some movie moments with a memorable song, but it's never the same thing as seeing a band perform said song live. That is where this record made deadmau5 have to step out of his comfort zone and become, in a word, subtle. A great deal of this album is delicate and open, asking for you to come to it rather than the other way around. Even the darker more brooding tracks like "sniper" have this life and energy to them, which is a very different energy than deadmau5 usually curates. The songs under two minutes are really where He shines, because it is really so new to him. deadmua5 tracks hit the six and eight minute marks often and it gives him all this room and space to eventually find his destination. Here He has to get to the point, create the emotion, and then move on which He is able to do really well. "midas heel" all at once feels classically deadmau5 with it's dark techno elements, but also suited for the background of a movie, it really works.

What is nice about this record is it feels so focused. Often deadmau5 can tend to meander and allow the music to stretch out of it's own accord, but here He really dials it in. "nosedive" the longest track here at almost nine minutes is one of those classic deadmau5 tracks where He builds and builds until the very end when He finally let's everything loose and finally allows you to loose yourself and fucking dance. This refcord truly shows some real evolution for deadmau5 and an ability to dial himself back when needed, something that has been a a knock against him for years. His brand was always super wild and full of experimentation but that often meant a loss of something true. Those notions are gone on this record and it seems like this may be a new path forward for deadmau5 outside of the bright lights of EDM. Don't fret I'm sure He'll still play "The Veldt" live and make you absolutely loose your shit, but maybe He'll make you look in wonder this time around as well. A truly lovely little record, soundtrack, whatever you want to call it from one of the most unlikely of sources.

7.6 out of 10