Soft, heartfelt, passionate, and devastating. These are the words that embody the soundtrack to the musical Hadestown. The musical retells the greek myth of Orpheus and his wife Eurydice, now set in the era of the great depression. Eurydice is stolen away by Hades deep into his underground factory, the titular Hadestown, and the gifted singer Orpheus, with help of the guide Hermes, must travel into Hadestown to bring her back.

The heart of the soundtrack is in the vocals. The perfect example of this is Orpheus’ serenade to Hades in the second act, Epic III. In each note, you feel the passion, Orpheus’ soft voice as he serenades Hades invokes emotion in the hardest of hearts, the flow and rhythm flows like water, and in its simplest form, it is excellence.

This holds true to most of the musical as well, every song has soul within it. Wait For Me and Doubt Comes In portray Orpheus’ human flaws, his initial selflessness overtaken by doubt and shaken faith, to the point of him shaking and shivering as he fights off his fear. Hermes’ narration of the events throughout the songs and his style of singing breathes life to the instrumentation, he’s as integral as every instrument in the soundtrack. The story’s setting brings a fresh take on the myth, their interpretation allowing for characters to feel more natural and alive compared to how legends and myths usually portray characters. The era bringing a certain feel to each song that isn’t so easily captured by other musicals. Everything about this musical is fantastic, and I highly recommend that you listen to it’s soundtrack online.