The Sounds of a Severed Mind
Consider the pursuit of the intangible to its tangibility. Explore the dissonance between perceiving and feeling. How do the mind and body contradict each other? These are themes central to Align’s Infrared issue, exploring what is hiding behind the visible spectrum. As I sat pondering, I couldn’t help but be reminded of the mysterious Lumon Industries employees and their desperate search for escape despite knowing that leaving their office walls could put an end to their existence.
Of course, I’m referring to “Severance,” Apple TV+’s hit psychological thriller series. Written and produced by Dan Erickson, “Severance” is a show that asks: How far will you go to achieve a perfect work-life balance?
If you haven’t seen “Severance,” you should probably click away and stop reading this. Not only because there will definitely be spoilers ahead, but because you’re truly missing out on what I believe to be the best television show of the decade. The series follows a department of office workers at a mysterious pharmaceutical company whose memories have been surgically divided between their home life and work life. Their work personalities, or “innies,” are limited to a life between stark office walls and the hours of 9 to 5. We follow our primary group of innies, Mark S. (Adam Scott), Helly R. (Britt Lower), Irving B. (John Turturro) and Dylan G. (Zach Cherry) as they learn more about their outside lives and uncover the dark truth about their jobs.
Besides critiquing American corporate culture and the effects of capitalism on its employees, the show also forces viewers to confront their identity and existence. It asks: Who would you be without access to your life experiences? Can a person exist without a past? Is your character inherent or acquired? Who are we without social indoctrination and cultural conditioning?
Every single aspect of the series, from the writing and performances to minor costume and set details, echoes the dichotomy between the characters’ split minds. However, none of these components hold a candle to the music used throughout the show. Whether it is Theodore Shapiro’s minimalist yet haunting score or a perfectly timed needle drop, the “Severance” soundtrack subliminally gives viewers clues about events and motivations. Let’s break down some of the ways music is used throughout the series to hint at messages or reflect a character’s journey.
Composition
Theodore Shapiro is the mastermind behind “Severance’s” score, and by extension, its eerie energy. In the words of 34th Street Magazine’s Will Cai, “Severance’s music is so attuned to the show’s themes and characters that it can provide insight into the narrative itself.” Within the show, there are essentially two worlds: regular outside life, referred to as the “outie” world, and the windowless “innie” world that only exists between their office walls. Shapiro’s score develops a different musical palette for each.
The outie world is characterized by dark and sinister sounds. Scenes that take place above ground feature tense strings and dissonant chords, reflecting the grief and depression that has taken over our leading man, Mark’s life and ultimately drove him to get the severance procedure. The innie world, situated an elevator ride below Lumon headquarters, on the other hand, is more whimsical and surreal. Using dreamy mallet instruments, chimes and chirpy digital production, the soundtrack makes the office feel like an oasis — an escape from the harsh realities of real life. However, as the show progresses and we learn more about the severed floor, the themes are underscored with cold piano and glitches in melodies. Just like the characters, we can feel that things aren’t as polished as they seem on the surface.
If you don’t really care to watch “Severance” but still want to see this dichotomy in action, just watch the pilot episode around the seven-minute mark. As Mark goes down the elevator and starts his workday, we switch abruptly from the haunting “Main Titles” to “Labor of Love,” an upbeat tune we frequently hear in the office. The difference is stark and immediately lets you in on everything you need to know about the world you’re about to be transported into. Good luck turning off the TV once you get started, though.
The show’s main theme itself is a masterpiece, embodying the mystery of the entire show and incorporating themes from both of the show’s palettes. It’s built around four chords: C minor, F-sharp major, F major and A-flat minor. On their own, these chords already evoke a creepy feeling, but the addition of distortion as they repeat longer, along with a mischievously intriguing melody, perfectly captures the uncanny energy that looms over the “Severance” universe. So perfectly, in fact, the chords and melodies from “Main Titles” are woven throughout the show and all of our main characters’ themes.
Needle Drops and Easter Eggs
The brilliant score isn’t the only way “Severance” uses music to set the tone of the show. To play into the ambiguous time period of the “Severance” universe — where everyone has smartphones but all the cars look like they’re from the ’80s — the production team filled the soundtrack with deep cuts and hidden gems from across the decades. What results are the most perfectly timed, jaw-dropping, goosebump-inducing needle drops. This soundtrack is stacked, and if I went into detail on every song, I’d be typing for days, but here are a few of my favorites.
“Daydream in Blue” by I Monster: The first moment in the show to leave me staring at my TV screen, jaw agape, comes at the end of episode two, when the beat drops in “Daydream in Blue.” Petey (Yul Vazquez) is a former employee of the severed floor, and he has contacted Mark’s outie to warn him about Lumon and explain the reintegration procedure, the only possible way to bypass the severance chip and reconnect one’s memories. While laying low in Mark’s basement, Petey’s memory begins flashing between office and real-world memories, and he stumbles around as the digital warbles and eerie strings at the start of “Daydream in Blue” grow in the background. The beat drops as he falls to the floor.
“Ace of Spades” by Motörhead: It is clear that outie Irving knows something about Lumon that the innies don’t know, and the company doesn’t want them to find out. He spends his nights at home painting images of a mysterious hallway in attempts to send messages to his innie through dreams, and while doing so he blasts “Ace of Spades” on repeat to keep himself from falling asleep. But we actually hear the riff and beat from “Ace of Spades” once before we ever learn what Irv is up to. When he nods off in the office and has his paint-filled dream, Shapiro slows down the Motörhead song and incorporates it into the instrumentals.
“Shakey Jake” by Joe McPhee: As the innies get closer to uncovering the truth behind the severance procedure, Lumon management is doing anything they can to keep them in line and incentivize productivity. One of these attempts includes a “Music Dance Experience” to celebrate one of Helly’s milestones. She selects the “defiant jazz” theme, and, with maracas in hand, the department dances to “Shakey Jake.” Trying his best to maintain the facade that everything is alright, the office manager, Mr. Milchick (Tramell Tillman), lets loose with an uncanny salsa-ish dance — that is, until Dylan shoves him into the record player, abruptly stopping the song.
“Eminence Front” by The Who: In attempts to reconnect his mind and memories, outie Mark secretly begins the process of reintegration in season two. During the procedure, “Eminence Front” builds and reaches its apex as Mark is flooded with flashes of memories and, for the first time, sees inside the office as his original self. Simultaneously futuristic and retro, the track perfectly reflects the shift between the analog severed floor and the outside world of smartphones and the internet and acts as a manifestation of the effects that severance has had on our characters.
“The Windmills of Your Mind” by Mel Tormé: As outraged as I felt watching Mark walk away from the door at the end of season two (if you know, you know …), nothing will compare to the full-body chills I got when the needle dropped on “The Windmills of Your Mind.” There is no better song to reflect the turmoil the innies face as they consider remaining trapped in the office and forever living under Lumon’s control or attempting to escape, knowing they could very well never exist as the same version of themselves again.
Whether through Shapiro's carefully curated score or a perfectly placed needle drop, the “Severance” soundtrack doesn't just accompany the story; it tells it. It pulls you deeper into Lumon's unsettling world, making you feel the fracture between the innies and outies long before you can articulate it. In a show about the invisible divide between who we are and who we become, the music reminds us that sometimes, it's the things we can’t see that reveal everything.