Let’s not waste Time: the soundtrack to Doctor Who‘s sixth series is, without a Vashta Nerada’s shadow of a doubt, composer Murray Gold’s finest work on the series to date.

Here are 10 highlights that your ears definitely shouldn’t miss…

 

Pay Attention Grown-ups

Reminiscent of some of his earlier work on Who, but even more finessed. If you’re a fan of his Voyage of the Damned suite or Series 1’s Bad Wolf / Parting of the Ways music you’ll love this. Listen carefully at the start and you’ll be able to catch a few notes of Gold’s brilliant All the Strange, Strange Creatures (from the Series 3 soundtrack) in the background.

 

Night Terrors

Intensely creepy. Psycho-esque strings, the watery atonal voice of the ‘Tick Tock’ children’s nursery rhyme fading in and out, and the sudden changes in tempo all keep the ears unsettled and give you the feeling you’re being swallowed up by a demented music box.

 

Fragrance

You can practically smell the petrichor in the air as the delicate notes of Fragrance play out. Perfectly reflecting The Doctor’s reaction on seeing Amy in Closing Time, it’s a bittersweet piece and one of the most beautiful on the album.

 

5:02pm

‘Epic’ is a word overused by YouTube commenters but it’s the only way to describe this track. With a bold choral blast, crashing cymbals, electric guitar and saxophone; 5:02pm makes you sit up and pay attention. Rather different to everything else on the album, the first minute is a rich, undulating wall of sound that’s sure to knock your Fez off.

 

The Wedding of River Song

This is The Doctor getting married and saving the universe all the same time, so it’s fitting that it’s quietly majestic rather than bombastic. A gradual orchestral build-up culminates to one dramatic point and then gently subsides into Amy’s Theme. Beautiful.

 

Released on Monday 19th December 2011 by Silva Screen.

> Buy the album on Amazon.

What did you think of Murray Gold’s music for Series 6? Let us know below…