Danny Elfman - In Time (2021)

"In Time" is the third track from Danny Elfman's album "Big Mess".

This song immediately caught my attention once the vocals kicked in. It's a brilliant and disturbing execution of the Dorian mode in music. Many would think Danny is out of tune, but not yet! He's actually in key (Dorian D) and this is absolutely intended. The cello and the vocals take turns, with the cello playing the "pretty" note, and Danny singing the "ugly" 6th note of the scale, thus drawing a contrasting and confusing image.

Reading the lyrics, I realized the second verse finishes one line earlier. The first strophe has 4 lines, and the second one only has 3. You would think the listener would notice, but it just flows perfectly into the bridge.  

During the bridge, the vocals are delivered in an ambiguous pitch. I have no idea how Danny pulls this off without sounding amiss - it's obviously out of tune! It's some form of microtonal magick to deepen the eerie mood and build up further tension. Here, again, there are only 3 lines of text, instead of the usual 4, and once again, it isn't really noticeable. 

In the final act of the piece, a beautiful string section breaks away the tension, and the song ends in a opti-mystical atmosphere. And just like that, 4 minutes have passed, without a chorus, and without any more verses! 

Rating: 10/10 hourglasses. 

An absolutely fascinating song.