CD review: Breaking Dawn Part 2

Published Nov 21, 2012

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BREAKING DAWN – PART 2 ORIGINAL MOTION PICTURE SOUNDTRACK

Various Artists

***

An emotive selection of tracks to complement the epic love story.

THEIR teenage love story – with Edward Cullen as a vampire and Bella Swan a human – stole the hearts of fans. Much has changed with Bella now a “newborn” and mother of Renesmee, a half-mortal and half-immortal, in the fifth and last instalment of the series.

The mélange of rock, electro pop and ballads selected for the soundtrack are a far cry from mainstream, but they beau- tifully complement the schmaltziness and melancholic moments of the story.

Electro pop outfit Passion Pit set the tone for the overarching journey – laden with trials and tribulations – with Where I Come From. One of the hottest British acts at the moment, Ellie Goulding – famed for her high vibrato tinged and husky vocals – makes her debut with Bittersweet.

Although Green Day’s The Forgotten and Pop Etc’s Speak Up are more hard-hitting tunes that capture the aggressiveness when a battle is on the cards – akin to the epic face-off with the merciless Volturi in the movie – there are a fair number of songs that caress with their intense sappiness.

Those are The Boom Circuits’ Everything and Nothing, Feist’s Fire in the Water and A Boy and his Kite’s Cover Your Tracks. A personal favourite is Nikki Reed’s (she plays Rosalie Hale) All I’ve Ever Needed, a country-styled ballad with hubby Paul McDonald (of American Idol fame).

Just as the movie’s climax swamps Twi-Hards with a tsunami of emotions, so does Christina Perri (featuring Steve Kazee) elicit the same reactions with a compelling and harmo- nious rendition of A Thousand Years (Part 2).

A soundtrack that will tickle the fancy of fans as it takes them on a wistful roller-coaster ride one last time. – Debashine Thangevelo

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