The Vampire Diaries (Original Television Soundtrack)

iTunes Review

Like the soundtracks to the Twilight movies the original television soundtrack to The Vampire Diaries leans hard on dark themes and beautifully melancholic musings, beginning with Placebo's haunting rendition of Kate Bush's "Running Up That Hill." Silversun Pickups recall early Smashing Pumpkins with "Currency of Love" before the Pumpkins themselves drop an exclusive track in "The Fellowship," a synth-heavy rocker that sounds nothing like their '90s recordings, save for Billy Corgan's nasal-toned inflections. Other standouts include a hypnotic remix of Bat for Lashes' "Sleep Alone," Goldfrapp's sultry "We Radiate" and Gorillaz's "On Melancholy Hill (Feed Me Remix)," which begins by stripping down everything to a bare-bones foundation of piano notes accompanying Damon Albarn's voice before other elements slowly build to birth a grooving version that's much more danceable than the original. Digital Daggers turns Tears For Fears' "Head Over Heels" into post-goth gorgeousness.