About Love Will Tear Us Apart

Sally Rooney’s best-selling novel Normal People is one of the most-loved books of recent times. It’s hardly surprising then, that some people wondered if a TV adaptation could ever do justice to the written work. Set in rural Ireland, and then Dublin, the series follows Connell and Marianne, who meet at school before falling in and out of love over a number of years. It’s a beautiful, visually arresting watch that will make you cry, laugh and beg for more. But the show’s brilliance isn’t just confined to the pictures on screen, it’s also in the perfectly curated soundtrack.

There’s a string of instrumental, atmospheric tracks that make up for the lack of original score – ‘Klangfall’ by Joep Beving places a mournful piano melody underneath one of the series’ most painful sequences, while ‘If You Stuff It All Down Deep Inside’ lends an ethereal mood to scenes of everyday mundanity. The show’s penchant for acoustic tracks risks veering towards generic “Sad Indie” Spotify playlists, curated for trendy coffee shops and overbearing high street brand campaigns. Covers of ‘Love Will Tear Us Apart’ and ‘Make You Feel My Love’ deserve a raised eyebrow, while ‘Berlin’ by RY X almost loses credibility when taken out of context – but it’s thankfully brought back to life through an emotional scene for Marianne, played by Daisy Edgar-Jones.