Alberto Magnuel

Despite getting an Oscar nomination for The Constant Gardener, Spanish composer Alberto Iglesias does not have the reputation he deserves in the U.S. In Europe, however, he's well known for his lush, classic-sounding work for Pedro Almodovar. Here he proves really versatile by creating a fitting soundtrack to a drama set in Afghanistan. Iglesias smartly decided to get inspiration from Afghan music, which he described in an interview as "closer to Persian with an admixture of Pakistani music," but not merely ape it, and his score gracefully incorporates elements from various styles (an Iranian zither in "Kite Shop," a wailing electric guitar on "The Stadium") without sounding like a patchwork. Iran-born, U.S.-based avant-garde singer Sussan Deyhim contributes particularly haunting vocals on "End Phone Call." Also of note are a pair of songs, "Tanha Shudam Tanha" and "Az Man Begurezed," by Ahmad Zahir, who was an icon of Afghani music in the 1970s, as well as new compositions ("Omaid e Man" and "Dukhtare Darya") from exiled Afghani musician Ehsan Aman.