Hear an Exclusive From the ‘Shirley’ Soundtrack, One of the Year’s Best Film Scores

Shirley, a fictional portrait of The Haunting of Hill House author Shirley Jackson, is one of the year’s most fascinating movies, and it comes accompanied with an unconventional, hypnotic score courtesy of Tamar-kali (Mudbound). Ahead of Shirley‘s impending release, we’re debuting an exclusive track from the Shirley score. Hear it below. 

Shirley Soundtrack

Milan Records will release the Shirley soundtrack on June 5, feature music by Tamar-kali. Available for preorder now, we’re exclusively debuting the track above, “Baby.”

“When I asked Tamar-kali to go wild, she went WILD,” said Shirley director Josephine Decker. “Her spirit is inside this film in a visceral, guttural way. She brought such rich rhythm and power to the score of Shirley.  In a film about two women unraveling each other, Tamar gave gravity, grace and nuance to the mysteries their union unleashed.”

In Shirley, “Renowned horror writer Shirley Jackson is on the precipice of writing her masterpiece when the arrival of newlyweds upends her meticulous routine and heightens tensions in her already tempestuous relationship with her philandering husband. The middle-aged couple, prone to ruthless barbs and copious afternoon cocktails, begins to toy mercilessly with the naïve young couple at their door.”

I caught the film at Sundance this year and was completely blown away by it, especially Elisabeth Moss’ lead performance. As I wrote in my review:

“No mere biopic, Shirley is a haunting portrait of author Shirley Jackson, telling a tale that didn’t actually happen. This is a fictional biography, and yet every moment rings true. Director Josephine Decker and screenwriter Sarah Gubbins have captured Jackson’s literary voice, while Elisabeth Moss has captured the late author’s very essence itself. Moss is so good here it’s scary, playing Jackson as a raging, neurotic mess prone to fits of crippling depression and bursts of brilliance. She’s a force to be reckoned with.”

The Shirley soundtrack track list is below.

1. A Not So Humble Request
2. “I Didn’t Ask you to Behave”
3. “I Have a Title”
4. What a Writer Does
5. Shirley’s Vision
6. Writing Begins
7. Rose’s Dream
8. Emissary / Captive Queen
9. Miscarriage
10. Mushrooms
11. Rose on Top
12. Shopping
13. Shirley On the Porch
14. Shirley Watches Rose at Party
15. Possession
16. Baby
17. Moving Out in a Week
18. Library Card
19. The Summoning
20. The Death of Little Wifey
21. End Credits