Shore is known for scoring darkly dramatic films such as Silence of the Lambs and The Game . He is a master of capturing a brooding, yet elegant aspect of morbid, heart-wrenching films and has therefore gained himself a sort of cult status among some film score fans. The director of The Yards , James Gray, called upon Shore to combine his usual knack for accentuating these sinister dramas with a classical twist. Gray believes heavily in the impact that music can have on every part of the filmmaking process, so he played music of a select classical genre to help stimulate the needed mood on the filming set. He wanted his drama to be inspired by early 20th Century orchestral pieces by Holst, Ravel, and Puccini, so after using that music on the set, he asked Shore to continue that inspiration.
Shore succeeds in that task, to an extent.
He constructs a simple, yet effective neo-classical theme and chord progression into almost every cue. I found that the classical influence was a welcome and interesting mutation of that Shore style, though it became very repetitive after one half of the score had passed on the album. This does not mean that the score is not elegant. It certainly is, but it will lull you to sleep rather than inspire you to any particular action. Shore, in a very subtle manner, calls upon the brass to perform some of his chord progressions with a sharp edge, and these moments present the highlights of the album.