MUSIC FROM FIRST COW

In First Cow, Kelly Reichardt once again trains her perceptive and patient eye on the Pacific Northwest, this time evoking an authentically hardscrabble early nineteenth century way of life. A taciturn loner and skilled cook (John Magaro) has traveled west and joined a group of fur trappers in Oregon Territory, though he only finds true connection with a Chinese immigrant (Orion Lee) also seeking his fortune; soon the two collaborate on a successful business, although its longevity is reliant upon the clandestine participation of a nearby wealthy landowner's prized milking cow. Reichardt again shows her distinct talent for depicting the peculiar rhythms of daily living and ability to capture the immense, unsettling quietude of rural America. Regarding Tyler's score, Reichardt says: "William Tyler turned up at the First Cow edit room with his several guitars, a dulcimer, and long fingernails. He got right to work, picking and strumming-it was all as good as it could be." William Tyler's latest full-length is 2019's Goes West, an album the Wall Street Journal says "exists in the spaces between genres and styles," one that "finds Mr. Tyler taking harmonic and melodic development to a new level."