Haunting the Truth with Music:The Trials of Darryl Hunt Soundtrack Produced by Paul Brill

I haven’t seen the movie, but Paul Brill’s production work on the soundtrack of The Trials of Darryl Hunt leave me haunted enough to sense the tragedy behind the case of the falsely convicted man. Brill’s own “Introduction” lays out the deep fear, dread, and hopelessness surrounding the legal system’s law enforcement, court, and prison agencies as blacks approach its doors and gates, while a tribal rhythm and high-toned melodic line point to some horizon of hope. Brill is just the artist to develop such a picture through music.

However, what Brill includes from other artists really paints the whole picture. Indie, Americana, and rock tracks from M. Ward, Andrew Bird, Mark Kozelek (Red House Painters), and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah lend the documentary air to the project as the music seems to open the big picture before your eyes. Especially compelling is “You Paint the Silence” by South with its smashing cymbal/tom-tom chorus and Joel Cadbury’s gentle verse vocals.

Interestingly, Brill includes demo and live versions of some songs, such as the one by South but also by Kozelek, Starsailor, and Bird. Of course, it could just be a soundtrack trick making collectors need to have these alternative takes of songs. Yet, I have to believe Brill chose a demo or live version because the sound better suited the project. Margot & the Nuclear So-and-So’s with their demo of “Things You Shouldn’t Do” is a stripped down, echoey touch recalling a lonely porch, jail cell, or being lost in a crowd of faces ignoring your plight.

Ras Kass, though, is the one who really clarifies the situation. The rap with its foreshadowing piano sample lays out statistics, research, criminological data, and philosophical realities facing African-Americans who are “Not Guilty” but are “guilty until proven innocent.”

Following up on that are funk beats behind the hustle and flow of “The Hunt is On” by Dead Prez featuring Sticman. This rap signals a warning to politicians and Christians who wrap themselves in liturgical robes of the stars ‘n’ stripes: claim that God is on your side in politics and government will lead to a very cynical view of your God by someone who suffers injustice from that same political system (“They say, ‘In God We Trust,’/But we all we got is us”).

[Note: I notice this same question and warning on Strata’s new album, Welcome to the End of the World, with the song, “The New National Anthem.” Beware that a Christian message in politics will backfire as a way to point someone to Jesus.]

Thanks to Paul Brill, Scarlet Shame Records, Young American Recordings, and The Trials of Darryl Hunt, Break Thru Films, and HBO for the review CD.