Dealth Waltz Recording Company’s ‘Twin Peaks: Limited Event Series Soundtrack’ is Absolutely Perfect

There are certain collaborations between directors and composers that bring out the best in each’s work. There’s the classic collaborations between Alfred Hitchcock and Bernard Hermann, Sergio Leone and Ennio Morricone, and Brian De Palma and Pino Donaggio; collaborations where you can’t imagine the images divorced from the music. Since first collaborating on Blue Velvet, director David Lynch and composer Angelo Badalamenti have had one of those fruitful working relationships and have collaborated on nearly every Lynch project since 1986. For all the ominous sounds that Badalamenti has placed over Lynch’s surrealist images, none seem to have endured as much as Badalamenti’s score for Twin Peaks and in 2017 the duo reunited for Twin Peaks: The Return, the wild third season of the confounding television show. Death Waltz Recording Company, the music wing of the t-shirt and poster company Mondo, has just issued a two-LP set of the Twin Peaks: Limited Event Series Soundtrack. It’s the vinyl equivalent of cherry pie and black coffee, simply a perfect union.

Taking place over 25 years after the original series, Twin Peaks: The Return was David Lynch’s first major work since wildly divisive Inland Empire. It also presented a unique challenge in trying to tap into the past while doing something bold and new. On that front, though, Lynch succeeded mightily and that’s reflected in this two-LP soundtrack. Classic compositions such as “Twin Peaks Theme (Falling)” and “Audrey’s Dance” make an appearance alongside new compositions that are as equally haunting such as Badalamenti’s “Heartbreaking.” Going through the songs on the Twin Peaks soundtrack is the kind of mind-bending trip worthy of the show, leaving you to ask “Is it future or is it past?”

Part of the fun in revisiting the soundtrack to Twin Peaks is aurally reliving the wildest moments from the show’s astonishing return, most specifically its unique eighth episode. In the mind-bending episode that takes us into an atomic explosion, Witold Rowicki and Krzysztof Penderecki’s “Threnody For The Victims Of Hiroshima” pushes us further into the chaotic heart of the explosion. It’s an orchestral composition that pairs perfectly with Lynch’s genre-breaking visuals. The haunting screeching of the strings are followed by the slowed down composition by Lynch and Dean Hurley “Slow 30’s Room.” Finally, Angelo Badalamenti’s “The Fireman” chimes in with a sense of glowing optimism. To listen to these tracks in succession is to relive one of the most daring works every displayed on television, and further illustrates just how important music is to world of Twin Peaks.

When I first popped on the Twin Peaks: Limited Event Series Soundtrack, I didn’t realize that the needle on my turntable was covered in dust. But the hisses, pops, and crackles that occurred while listening to record only enhanced the unsettling nature of Badalamenti’s soundtrack. “Audrey’s Dance” took on a eerie sound that could occur on vinyl. It was a perfect marriage of format and music.

Once again, Death Waltz Recording Company has issued a stellar edition of a classic soundtrack, pulling out all the stops on its intricate packaging and use of colored vinyl. Twin Peaks: The Return was a one-of-a-kind television experience, something that has still swirled within my mind for the two years since its stunning finale. Death Waltz’s Twin Peaks: Limited Event Series Soundtrack is a one-of-a-kind edition worthy of its source material, a magnificent soundtrack delivered in magnificent fashion. You don’t need to be trapped in the Black Lodge to see why this edition is perfect for Twin Peaks fans. That’s some damn fine coffee.