Grizzly Bear’s Daniel Rossen and Christopher Bear have announced that the soundtrack they’ve made for Celine Song’s upcoming A24 film, Past Lives, will be released on June 9th via A24 Music. They’ve also shared two singles from the project, “Why Are You Going to New York” and “Across the Ocean.”
Open, airy, subtle, and melodic, both “Why Are You Going to New York” and “Across the Ocean” speak to the musicianship Rossen and Bear have been demonstrating since Grizzly Bear first hit the scene nearly 20 years ago. They embrace a familiar, acoustic production palette as well — listening to the songs, it’s easy to feel like you’re in a big, open room with the musicians, engulfed by the pianos and strings as sunlight pours in through the windows.
In addition to Rossen and Bear’s scoring, the soundtrack will also feature an original song: “Quiet Eyes,” which was written and performed by Sharon Van Etten and Zachary Dawes. Listen to “Why Are You Going to New York” and “Across the Ocean” below, and then keep scrolling to see the album artwork and tracklist for the Past Lives original soundtrack.
Past Lives is Song’s first feature film, and follows the lives of two childhood friends as they are wrested apart in Korea and reunited two decades later in New York. A “modern romance,” the story explores themes of identity and human connection. Greta Lee, Teo Yoo, and John Magaro will star. The film will hit theaters in New York and Los Angeles on June 2nd, a week before the soundtrack debuts.
Grizzly Bear has kept a low profile in recent years, with one of the band’s primary vocalists, Ed Droste, quietly leaving the group in 2020. Rossen, however, unveiled his debut solo LP last year, You Belong There. Van Etten, meanwhile, issued an anniversary edition third album, Tramp, earlier this year.
Past Lives Original Motion Picture Soundtrack Artwork:
Past Lives Original Motion Picture Soundtrack Tracklist:
01. If You Leave Something Behind
02. Crossing
03. You Gain Something Too
04. Do You Remember Me
05. I Remember You
06. Across the Ocean
07. Crossing II
08. In Yun
09. We Live Here
10. Why Are You Going to New York
11. Staring at a Ghost
12. Bedroom
13. An Immigrant and a Tourist
14. Eight Thousand Layers
15. See You
16. Quiet Eyes – Sharon Van Etten
