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Lodge 49 soundtrack out this week (listen to Soundcarriers' cover of Scott Walker's "The Seventh Seal")

In this age of Peak TV, most shows that get any attention at all have pretty good soundtracks, be it Watchmen, Russian Doll, Stranger Things, Insecure, Killing Eve or Fargo. But few shows have as unique a soundtrack as AMC’s Lodge 49. A show about a group of loveable misfits and dreamers circling in the orbit of fraternal order The Lynx, Lodge 49 adds an air of mystery with a unique mix of baroque psych, obscure surf rock, garage rock and funk, and cult acts like Broadcast, Felt, Television Personalities, Lilys and The Soundcarriers.

Lodge 49 is getting an official soundtrack release, out digitally this Friday (12/13) via Lakeshore Records. (Hopefully a vinyl release down the line.) It plays like an exceptionally curated mixtape, with two awesome ’60s obscurities —  The Squires‘ “Going All the Way” and Roundhouse‘s “Alchemy is Good for You” — that the show’s music supervisor, Thomas Patterson, went to extraordinary lengths to secure rights to. Those sit perfectly with more recent music by John Myrtle, French psych band Gloria and UK group The Superimposers. There is also some of Andrew Carroll’s great score work, and two new tracks that are exclusive to the Lodge 49 soundtrack which are by favorite bands of series creator Jim Gavin: a brand new Lilys song, “Unheard Curiosities,” which is their first new music in years; and a cover of Scott Walker’s “The Seventh Seal” by UK group The Soundcarriers who recorded a number of new song for the series.

The Soundcarriers’ cover of “The Seventh Seal” keeps much of the drama of Walker’s sweeping original (the opening track on Scott 4) but they play it like a ’60s beat group might, with dirty organ and fuzzy bass. Best of all, singer Leonore Wheatley really belts it out, which is a contrast from her more reserved vocal delivery on most other Soundcarriers tracks. Awesome as it is, the cover is even better in context of the show, where it perfectly soundtracks a surprising (and somewhat zany) action sequence in the penultimate episode of the series’ fantastic second season. “The Seventh Seal” premieres in this post and you can stream it, and check out the full Lodge 49 soundtrack tracklist, below.

A show that’s more of a hang than one overly concerned with plot, Lodge 49 got even better in its second season. Sadly, AMC declined to pick the series up for a third season, but there is a very active fan campaign to save it get another network or streaming service to pick it up, with supporters including Tom Hanks, Russell Crowe, Ken Jeong, Patton Oswalt and Amy Schumer. Producer Paul Giamatti (who also appears in Season 2) is hopeful they can find a new home for the unique show.

You can stream Lodge 49‘s first season on Hulu, and S2 is on AMC’s streaming app, and available for rent via Amazon, Apple TV, etc. You can also read our interview with series music supervisor Thomas Patterson.

In other news, The Soundcarriers are finishing up work on their fourth album, which was directly inspired by their work on Lodge 49. Stay tuned for more info on that.

Lodge 49 Soundtrack:
01. Title Theme (I lift My Lamp Beside The Golden Door!) – Andrew Carroll
02. Going All the Way – The Squires
03. Chasing the Tide – The Superimposers
04. Child of The Sea – Sid Bradley
05. I Was Spinning – Andrew Carroll
06. The Seventh Seal – The Soundcarriers
07. Beam Me Up – Gloria
08. Dark Is the Sun (The Lodge Waltz) – Greg Foat
09. The World Will Keep Spinning Round – John Myrtle
10. Follow Me To The Golden Gate – Andrew Carroll
11. Alchemy Is Good For You (Don’t You Know It) – Round House
12. Desert Stars – Eric Allan Kramer
13. A Message Pts 1 & 2 – Andrew Carroll
14. Unheard of Curiosities – Lilys
15. Nature Boy – Susy Kane