A great TV soundtrack is the glue that holds narrative threads together and a subtle(ish) insight into characters’ shifting priorities. It’s also an opportunity to pimp your own playlists with unsung gems from the past and box-fresh bangers you haven’t discovered yet. With this in mind, here are 10 soundtracks that really leapt off the small screen this year.
Words: Nick Levine
‘Black Rabbit’
Centred around a trendy Manhattan restaurant, this gritty thriller features two original songs written by The Strokes‘ Albert Hammond Jr. and sung by lead actor Jude Law. They’re actually pretty decent, but the real meat is riff-driven morsels from Pixies (‘Marigold’), Beastie Boys (‘Just A Test’) and Amyl And The Sniffers (‘U Should Not Be Doing That’). It’s big, bold soundtrack that really captures the intense and frenetic New York state of mind.
Best needle-drop: RAYE‘s cover of Dinah Washington’s ‘What A Difference A Day Makes’, which she sings during her cameo in a nightclub scene. Pure class.
‘Boots’
Set in 1990, this punchy dramedy follows closeted teenager Cameron (Miles Heizer) as he navigates the physical rigours and barely veiled homophobia of US Marines boot camp. Punky cuts from the Ramones (‘Little Bit O’ Soul’) and Iggy Pop (‘The Passenger’) add grit, while camp classics by Bananarama (‘Venus’) and Queen (‘I Want To Break Free’) feel like a knowing wink. And Sade‘s ‘The Sweetest Taboo’ is used very movingly indeed.
Best needle-drop: Cameron is a big Wilson Phillips fan, so naturally ‘Hold On’ gets a couple of prominent syncs.
‘House Of Guinness’
Masterminded by Peaky Blinders‘ Steven Knight, this Irish brewing drama was always going to have a killer soundtrack. There’s lovely trad folk from The Chieftains and Lisa O’Neill, but the focus is on box-fresh bangers from the booming Irish music scene: Dublin punks Fontaines D.C. and Belfast hip-hop trio Kneecap get several syncs apiece. And don’t worry, you can binge the entire series without hearing ‘Galway Girl’.
Best needle drop: Fontaines D.C.’s ‘Death Kink’ soundtracks an especially intense scene in episode six.
‘Overcompensating’
As well as guest-starring in Benito Skinner’s college comedy, Charli XCX serves as its music producer, so every song slaps. It’s set in the early 2010s, which means a liberal sprinkling of vintage Charli (‘Nuclear Seasons’, ‘Girls Night Out’) alongside cool alt-pop from Sky Ferreira, Uffie and Lorde. And when Skinner’s wannabe jock needs to prove his rap credentials, he reels off a few bars of Nicki Minaj‘s ‘Super Bass’.
Best needle-drop: Britney Spears‘ wistful banger ‘Lucky’ soundtracks a pivotal moment of personal growth for Skinner’s conflicted character Benny.
‘Stranger Things’
Season: five
In its epic final season, the mindbending sci-fi series continues to use ’80s pop classics sparingly but cleverly. Tiffany’s bubblegum banger ‘I Think We’re Alone Now’, which is sweetly referenced in episode three, has never sounded quite so poignant. And who can blame the Duffer Brothers for syncing Kate Bush‘s ‘Running Up That Hill’ again after season four sent it to Number One? In fact, it features in nearly every episode.
Best needle-drop: When Diana Ross’ ‘Upside Down’ plays over the end credits of episode one. Frankly, it’s about time!
‘The Bear’
Season: four
In its enthralling fourth season, The Bear continues to serve up its emotional and culinary maelstrom with generous helpings of classic rock. Led Zeppelin, The Who, Tom Petty? All cranked up to 11. But at the same time, the show’s music producers are always testing new flavours. Episode seven features no fewer than 13 different needle drops from artists as varied as Weezer and Everything But The Girl. On this sizzling soundtrack, not one song is a chop.
Best needle drop: Episode one’s closing montage and end credits are soundtracked by seven full minutes of Tangerine Dream’s ‘Diamond Diary’. A big swing, executed to perfection.
‘The Girlfriend’
Everything about this twisty thriller is intense and arresting, especially its soundtrack. There’s a tremendous sense of fun in the way it uses pummelling anthems by PJ Harvey (‘Rid Of Me’), Blondie (‘One Way Or Another’) and BLACKPINK (‘Pretty Savage’) to signpost that neither Laura (Robin Wright) nor her prospective daughter-in-law Cherry (Olivia Cooke) is a pushover. When the final episode drops Ava Max’s ‘Sweet But Psycho’, it’s almost too on-the-nose. Almost.
Best needle-drop: A frantic sex scene set to Wet Leg’s ‘Chaise Longue’ is low-key genius.
‘The Summer I Turned Pretty’
Season: three
Few shows use music to highlight a character’s mindset quite as deftly as Jenny Han’s love triangle drama. This final season offers another high-quality mix of emotive retro gems (Radiohead‘s ‘No Surprises’, Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Landslide’) and evocative modern bops (Chappell Roan‘s ‘Good Luck, Babe!’, Billie Eilish‘s ‘Birds Of A Feather’. And thanks to a handwritten note sent by Han to the world’s biggest popstar, it features nearly as many Taylor Swift hits as ‘The Eras Tour’.
Best needle-drop: Swift’s ‘I Can Do It With A Broken Heart’ is deployed poignantly in the final episode.
‘Wednesday’
Season: two
Wednesday‘s season two soundtrack is so bloody good that it coaxed Billie Piper out of musical retirement. The Y2K pop queen-turned serious actress duets with Catherine Zeta-Jones on a suitably dramatic cover of Creedence Clearwater Revival‘s ‘Bad Moon Rising’. Elsewhere, Tim Burton’s Addams Family reboot accentuates its kooky and spooky goings on with everything from Wagner (‘Ride Of The Valkyries’) to BLACKPINK (‘Boombayah’) and Bruce Springsteen (‘Dancing In The Dark’).
Best needle-drop: ‘The Dead Dance’, a brand new Lady Gaga banger recorded especially for the show. Well, she does guest star in episode six.
‘What It Feels Like For A Girl’
Adapted by Paris Lees from her own memoir, this chaotic coming-of-age series is set amid Nottingham’s ket-laced Y2K club scene. Segueing from techno (Zombie Nation’s ‘Kernkraft 400’) to big beat (The Chemical Brothers’ ‘Hey Boy Hey Girl’) and UK garage (DJ Luck & MC Neat’s ‘A Little Bit Of Luck’), the soundtrack is so impeccably nostalgic you’ll get high on the memories. And for the comedown? A soothing blast of All Saints’ ‘Never Ever’.
Best needle-drop: A satisfied strut from main character Byron (Ellis James Howard) to Fatboy Slim‘s ‘Praise You’.