the-knick-season-2

listen to Cliff Martinez's score for 'The Knick' Season 2

by Bill Pearis

The Knick

Cinemax’s series The Knick just wrapped up its second season with a heart-stopping finale (which could be the series finale). About a brilliant, but seriously drug-addicted surgeon (Clive Owen) at The Knickerbocker Hospital in turn-of-the-century New York, it’s one of the most distinctive shows on television. (Grossest, too. This and Hannibal top my list of “do not eat while watching” shows.) Steven Soderbergh directed and shot every episode — it looks gorgeous, even during the grisly surgery scenes — and the score is by Cliff Martinez, who has collaborated with Soderbergh since Sex, Lies & Videotape, but may be best known for his work on Drive. He brings a similarly pulsing electronic score to The Knick and, with the occasional theremin, it gives the show a surreal, sci-fi quality. (“Steampunk” has been used to describe it more than a few times.) The score works perfectly on the show and sounds good on its own too. Listen to the whole Season 2 soundtrack, below…