At times, Howard's score features strong, heavy hits and driving melodies. At other times, his use of shrill strings creates an atmosphere of imposing and unavoidable danger--of pure threat. And through most of the score, he uses light and repeating piano and flute undertones to create mood. At first, they seem to indicate a placid and comfortable existence, the kind of feel that James Horner worked into his Field of Dreams score. Then they act as a gentle indicator that a mystery is unfolding and that time is slowly, but definitely, running out. By the last piece on the album, the familiar flute tones suggest something entirely different than a countdown to disaster--they're now a hopeful gaze toward the future. The Signs soundtrack is more conventional than Howard's amazing work for Unbreakable, and not as moody as his The Sixth Sense, but it's full of thought and anticipation with stretches that incite fear and excitement--recommended.