City of Gold
Apple/iTunes posted its list of the 25 Best Soundtrack Albums and Soundtracks Songs of 2016. Bobby’s Score to “City of Gold” was ranked #13 for Soundtrack Albums and his song “Love Letter” ranked #12 for Soundtrack Songs.
“I love this album!… It’s totally addictive, from the very first tones (a weird rhythm made from ‘popping’ sounds) to the last. Soon bass, lively percussion and jazzy brass are added… The music oozes optimism; it makes you feel good without being blatantly obvious about it. It’s an incredibly colourful score, with lots of different instruments taking the lead. One moment it’s brass, the next it’s guitars, piano or mallets. Percussion plays a major role in virtually every track, and the percussion alone is as inventive as the rest of the score. There are a few central ideas that recur throughout the score, but it’s the quirky, inventive nature of the music that really brings all the cues together. For me, this is one of the year’s most pleasant surprises.”
~ Pete Simons, SYNCHROTONES SOUNDTRACK REVIEWS
“I just adore the fresh sound of this score… The music is cool and friendly… Each cue is a collection of different instruments, raw, unpolished and warm. “City of Gold” is unlike any score I’ve heard lately. It somehow feels more real and human than other scores… I loved this score and I will surely listen to it again. It’s the equivalent of a morning when you wake up early but love it and just know you’re going to have a great day. The smooth and jazzy musings of Bobby Johnston will make sure of that.”
~ Mihnea Manduteanu, SOUNDTRACK DREAMS
Crazy Eyes
“There are indie-centric composers who impress with their quirkiness. Then there are others who come across like mad geniuses, creating a sound akin to outsider art. Bobby Johnston often falls into the latter camp … Johnston has steadily risen in the indie scoring scene for his ability to deliver the unexpected through innovatively bizarre instrumental combos, and his ability to tune them towards eccentric mindsets—whether they be whimsical or psychotic … A loopy, Klezmer spirit infuses much of these psychological S & M mind games, accordions, female voices, and Stephane Grappelli-esque jazz creating the time-lost sense of sinking into drink in a Silverlake bar, or your sex-cluttered bedroom. Sad sack guitar rhythms and finger-snapping female vocalese strut in the spirit of film noir jazz, while gossamer bells compound the sense of an LA twilight zone. “Crazy Eyes” is indeed that description when it comes to the completely unique, and hallucinatory sound that Johnston delivers here …”
~ Daniel Schwieger, FILM MUSIC MAGAZINE
“What Bobby Johnston has done here is create a fantastic score that gives this narrative an amazing identity … The score starts off with a quirky but terrifically executed track. You can tell there is some Yiddish influence in the music, but it works and fits extremely well into the landscape. Then immediately the score takes on a jazzy, lounge feel that acts as more than background atmosphere. The melodies aren’t big but they sure do hook you. That hook is what kept me invested in this score all the way through and I enjoyed every moment of it … The final few tracks take on a different flavor altogether as if we are brought out of the fantasy and into real life. It is very impressive that the score is able to take on 3 different sides while being maybe 30 minutes … I really liked Crazy Eyes. It had a strong narrative voice, it worked hand in hand with the songs and it did a hell of a lot with a short running time. The score felt complete and it’s a very decent work from a composer who nailed character and mood in his music.”
~ Kaya Savas, FILMMUSICMEDIA.COM
King of the Ants
“… an absorbing combination of exotic jazz and atmospheric horror music. Bobby Johnston demonstrates with his music for King Of The Ants that he is not afraid to try something different. The heavy use of varied and inventive percussion makes the score somehow timeless and strangely unnerving, as well as at times both exciting and colourful. It will be interesting to see how the composer follows this one!”
~ Andrew Keech, MUSIC FROM THE MOVIES
“Bobby Johnston’s score for King of the Ants is an attractive introduction to this innovative talent. The CD itself sounds great with all the various sounds being easily heard, teasing the listener to try and identify the origins of all the various instruments that Johnston has used to produce this score. Johnston has produced one of the catchiest main titles of the year.”
~ Alan Rogers, MUSIC ON FILM
“… this interesting, multi-layered and darkly compelling soundtrack should help bring Johnston to a deservedly wider audience. All of the music on this disc conveys a slightly disturbing mix of sensuousness and aggression, but it’s never overstated. Unlike most collections of film music, this one stands up very well to repeated listening … I found this CD extremely rewarding.”
~ A.L. Sirois, SCI-FI WEEKLY
Wristcutters: A Love Story
“the film has an unmistakably Slavic sensibility that manifests itself in the morosely offbeat humor, the characters’ names and composer Bobby Johnston’s wry, flavorful original score.”
~ Justin Chang, VARIETY
“music is often the secret weapon of the indie comedy, and so it is here. Scoring by composer Bobby Johnston, as well as tracks by Tom Waits and a number of songs and artists associated with suicide (including music by Joy Division and a jazzy rendition of “Gloomy Sunday” a.k.a., “The Hungarian Suicide Song”) jauntily endeaden the soundtrack.”
~ Bob Westal, Bullz-Eye
“The film also boasts a memorable soundtrack… a joyful, exuberant, beautiful, sad, crazy soundtrack”
~ Evrim Ersoy, monsters and critics
Mother’s Day
“Bobby Johnston’s score adds immeasurably – it’s reminiscent of Hans Zimmer’s better work.”
~ FEARnet
“It has a surprisingly good score that not only sets the tone, but heralds the arrival of “mama” in such a way as to make you fear this woman before you know anything about her. Also, the fact that it was inspired by ‘Goblin’ makes it even more spectacular.”
~ Cinematical
“the rich, creepy score by composer Bobby Johnston and its strange, hypnotic use of real instruments adds to the intensity as two very strong women fight for their family.”
~ Rogue Network