New releases last eight weeks: Classical

Review: Trying to figure out exactly when you'll stick on the soundtrack to Game of Thrones Season 7 isn't easy. But that's not to say Rabin Djawadi's epic score isn't something to behold. From the word go, this is adventurous stuff, rooted in classical but clearly inspired by visions of fantastical beasts, mythical lands and legendary quests. You almost feel like Cersei Lannister or Jon Snow or Daenerys Targaryen are about to knock on for their dinner. Like pretty much everything the Iranian-German film and TV composer touches - Clash of the Titans, Warcraft, Iron Man - there's little here you'd describe as subtle or understated. Even the more sweeping overtures sound like they were born for grand concert halls. So, providing you have the space at home, go for it.

Review: "We few, we happy few, we band of brothers..." So said Henry V before the battle of Agincourt in one of Shakespeare's many lauded histories. The quote went on to Christen Stephen Ambrose's 1993 novel and a subsequent American war drama miniseries of the same name, chronicling the journey of the "Easy Company," a group of American paratroopers during World War II. Training, combat tussles, and fraternal bonds are given a brutal portrayal in the film, and this mood of brutality and endurance was not unnoticeably underscored by Michael Kamen's soundtrack, now reissued on gatefold 2xLP. Kamen, known for his scores for Die Hard, X-Men and Memento, brought out a mood of orchestral fortuity, successfully mirroring the film's intent to portray themes of glory, tragedy and camaraderie, all of which ooze from its many orchestral swells and windfalls.

Review: Yellowstone is an American neo-Western drama centered on the Dutton family, whose massive cattle ranch borders Yellowstone National Park, the Broken Rock Indian reservation, and land developers. Kevin Costner, Luke Grimes, and Kelly Reilly play the crossfire-caught Dutton family, and composer Brian Tyler, influenced by his experience in a Native American music group, evokes such turmoil and unchecked exploitation, through traditional Native American sounds and Western elements; percussion, woodwinds, and exotic instruments alongside cellos and basses are all incorporated, invoking the harrows of modern factionalism.

Review: Christopher Nolan's Dunkirk reimagines the war film as a tense, near-wordless "single-take" experience. Set during the 1940 evacuation from the beaches of Dunkirk, the film captures the claustrophobic chaos faced by Allied forces encircled by German troops. German composer Hans Zimmer's score centrally shapes the film's pressure-cooker atmosphere, as a ticking motif sampled from Nolan's own pocket watch circumvolves a Shepard tone, never ceasing to up the audiovisual tension. This limited edition release of 500 hand-numbered copies on dark green vinyl includes liner notes from Nolan himself, offering insight into the film's sonic and structural design. More than just a soundtrack, Dunkirk was marked out as a landmark in psychological intensity through sound, precision-engineered for immersive listening.