Sony Music release The Sun is Also a Star: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack with music by Icelandic composer Herdís Stefánsdóttir. In the film, college-bound romantic Daniel Bae (Charles Melton) and Jamaica-born pragmatist Natasha Kingsley (Yara Shahidi) meet – and fall for each other – over one magical day amidst the fervour and flurry of New York City. Sparks immediately fly between these two strangers, who might never have met had fate not given them a little push. But will fate be enough to take these teens from star-crossed to lucky in love? With just hours left on the clock in what looks to be her last day in the U.S., Natasha is fighting against her family’s deportation as fiercely as she’s fighting her budding feelings for Daniel, who is working just as hard to convince her they are destined to be together...

Herdís Stefánsdóttir delivers a rich and very sweet score for The Sun is Also a Star. The album contains 18 tracks (33 min, 17 sec) and in a lot of ways it reminded me, in spirit, of Rob Simonsen's incredible score for The Age of Adaline.

There are themes here to fall in love with, that tug gently on the heart strings. It's rare to find a soundtrack that is so emotionally engrossing, but Stefánsdóttir hits all the right notes to deliver something truly beautiful which stands on its own two feet as a gorgeous collection of themes in their own right. The score's most emotionally rewarding theme is housed in a number of tracks including 'Daniel and Natasha'; 'Plaza Hug'; and 'Four Minute Stare' - which was this album's standout track for me.

Talking about the music, Herdís Stefánsdóttir said: "I was 7 months pregnant when I started writing the score and that made the experience very special for me. I was extra emotional and focused because of my situation, which I felt helped me overall in the creative process, and was able to write the music quickly and felt inspired by the story. I needed to write music that would evolve and mature with the characters in the film and the growing feeling of love. I mostly used a mix of ukulele, harp, electronics, flutes, strings and piano. The score was lighter in the beginning of the film, but as the drama progresses I brought in deeper sounds and more emotional instruments like the piano, cello and harp."

If you're a lover of subtle, melancholic scores that leave you with a feel good mentality then you'll get a lot of pleasure from this. It's a sumptuous feast for the ears and the soul.

9

Darren Rea