On reflection, it perhaps shouldn't be that surprising that Radiohead's In Rainbows took four seemingly interminable years to see the light of day. Apart from expanding family trees, those so-called 'lost' years actually saw singer Thom Yorke produce a successful solo album and bassist Colin Greenwood sitting on numerous poetry judging panels whilst his younger sibling, guitarist Jonny Greenwood, besides compiling a reggae mix for Trojan, has been slowly making his mark on the contemporary classical scene.

Shortly after the release of Radiohead's Hail To The Thief in 2003, Greenwood was appointed "composer in residence" for the BBC Symphony Orchestra and subsequently produced three fully-fledged works: "Smear", "Piano For Children" and "Popcorn Superhet Receiver," the latter receiving the BBC Radio 3's "Listener's Award" in 2006.

There Will Be Blood does not represent Greenwood's first foray into movie soundtracks; indeed, 2003 also saw the release of his soundtrack to Bodysong. Greenwood's take on the art-based independent movie was to provide a largely avant-garde accompaniment, dabbling in elements of electronica, modern jazz and contemporary classical. There Will Be Blood is altogether a different kettle of fish, the movie itself infinitely more "Hollywood" and this soundtrack strictly adheres to Greenwood's classical style. The film istelf, directed by Paul Thomas Anderson and starring Daniel Day-Lewis as the oilman Daniel Plainview, and is nominated for eight Academy Awards. Sadly, Greenwood's soundtrack was disqualified as much of what is in the film was recorded not especially for There Will Be Blood.

Greenwood himself goes to great pains to comment in interviews that he does not consider either of his soundtracks to be fully-fledged solo albums, but still There Will Be Blood does hold as an album, of sorts, in its own right. The most remarkable aspect is how far each piece is from contemporary rock and pop; in general, where pop musicians have perilously dabbled in classical music, the results are either highly generic or highly embellished by an "arranger." But Greenwood displays mastery in his chosen subject with a variety of inventive arrangements and intricate compositions.

"Open Spaces" sets the stall out early, with its eerie menacing chords creating tension with descending glissandos. As with half of the album, it's orchestrated for a string orchestra (the BBC Concert Orchestra) and Greenwood uses the large ensemble here to create fulsome-sounding chords with the emphasis always being creating a whole soundscape, rather than conventionally placing a backing behind a melody. In many respects, the timbre and style is similar to his own classical heroes, Penderecki and Messaien. Still, where obvious melodies appear, such as the violin in "Eat Him By His Own Light," they remain predominantly abstract, both in tonality and in their irregular rhythm.

Away from the string orchestra, the remaining tracks are arranged for smaller ensembles. "Prospectors Arrive" is performed by a piano/violin/cello trio and emerges as a dream-like waltz; more than any track on the record, it demonstrates the large amount of human-ness that Greenwood is able to impart upon his works. Other pieces are written for a string quartet, such as the beautiful and intricate "Oil" that displays a jazz-like tendency in the way the four parts appear to simultaneously move independently and concurrently.

At a modest length of 33 minutes, it does appear that several of the pieces are prematurely ended, but this was no doubt largely to fit in with the soundtrack brief. Although some of the pieces are elongated during the movie, on this soundtrack alone there is a slight tendency for underdevelopment, partly demonstrated as only two of the eleven tracks exceed four minutes in length. What would be of particular interest is if Greenwood is able to expand some of the themes into more fully-fledged works, the falling piano chords of "Eat Him By His Own Light" would provide an ideal motif for development in a larger piece. Indeed, his most celebrated work to date, "Popcorn Superhet Receiver" is featured here: "Henry Plainview" is that piece's introduction, whilst "Proven Lands" is the driving percussive section, and these snippets hint that perhaps some of the compositions will be expanded further.

It would be easy to be bowled over by There Will Be Blood for its context alone; after all, this is the man who simply went "chugga chug" on his guitar during "Creep" in 1992. Both this contrast and Greenwood's own musical development since this time is exceptional, not that should this should discredit Greenwood's compositional skills themselves. Each piece is incredibly visual, even when devoid of the movie itself and there's a wide range of textures and tempos throughout, albeit restricted to the confines of that required for the soundtrack.