Your ears haven’t heard anything like this before. Quite possibly the most resonating score I’ve listened to all year, co-composers Scott Alario and Alex Somers conjure up nothing short of magic in their stunning experimental soundtrack for Nickel Boys. The film already plays with strong stylistic choices, including the use of the first-person POV perspective, and Alario and Somers propel this intimacy with their ethereal and often hypnotic sound. It’s easy to listen to and impossible to forget.

Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Colson Whitehead, Nickel Boys chronicles the powerful friendship between two young African American men navigating the harrowing trials of reform school together in Florida. It stars Ethan Herisse, Brandon Wilson, Hamish Linklater, Fred Hechinger, Daveed Diggs, and Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor. Amazon MGM Studios is giving a limited release on Friday, December 13th.

Cinemacy is proud to premiere “Stare” from Nickel Boys (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack), below:

The score’s initial texture is incredibly visceral as if one is recalling a hazy memory that intermittently comes in and out of consciousness. It almost sounds like a struggle, until we get about two minutes in and are greeted with warm rays of light. The stickiness of the first two minutes beautifully comes to a crescendo moments later. Somers’ vocals push through the wall of sound to create an angelic and emotive rallying cry. During Deadline’s “Sound & Screen” music showcase in November, Alario and Somers explained how they found inspiration on set in New Orleans. RaMell Ross encouraged them to explore the unconventional. The result is an artful and unique blend of bathroom fans, frogs, and more.

Nickel Boys is having a good week. In addition to the upcoming soundtrack release, RaMell Ross won Best Director at the Gotham Awards and the New York Film Critics Circle Awards. Brandon Wilson, who plays Turner, took home Gotham’s Breakthrough Performer award. Announced yesterday, the film is also nominated for a Film Independent Spirit Award for Best Feature. Cinematographer Jomo Fray is also nominated for a Spirit Award.

About Alex Somers

Alex Somers is an American composer and music producer. After studying at Berklee College of Music, Alex relocated to Reykjavík, Iceland where he attended the Iceland Academy of the Arts. In Reykjavík, Alex honed his skills as a composer, producer, audio engineer, and mixer. Alex now lives in Los Angeles and creates music for film and TV. Recent projects include: Honey Boy, Captain Fantastic, Nickel Boys, Holland Michigan, Taylor Swift Miss Americana, The Biggest Little Farm Series, Causeway, Sigur Rós Valtari, and Jónsi & Alex Somers – Riceboy Sleeps.

About Scott Alario

Scott is an artist and composer living and working in Providence, RI. He makes music as a solo artist (Sorry I’m Late, 2022) and as a collaborator with LA-based composer Alex Somers, since 2003. The two co-scored (with Forest Kelley) the 2019 Oscar-nominated documentary film Hale County This Morning, This Evening (2018, directed by RaMell Ross).

Lakeshore Records will release ‘Nickel Boys (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)’ on Friday, December 6th.