"Tribes of Palos Verdes" Soundtrack Lyrics

---

“The Tribes of Palos Verdes (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) & Score by Gustavo Santaolalla” – Album Guide to Tracks and Key Scenes

Review

What does a sun-bleached coming-of-age story sound like when the ocean is both refuge and riptide? This soundtrack answers with a two-part pulse: Gustavo Santaolalla’s spare, wind-worn score and a hand-picked set of indie cuts (Bahamas, King Krule, Cherry Glazerr, Ariel Pink, Jack Johnson). The songs sketch the teenagers’ subculture — garages, parties, beach lots — while the score threads salt and ache through every choice Medina makes.

Santaolalla’s cues (“Theme,” “Jim’s Theme,” “Facedown”) travel light: acoustic colors, tremolo guitars, and breath between notes — cliff-edge calm before another family wave breaks. Around that spine, the album drops pop-leaning lanterns: Bahamas’ warm croon for first crushes; Cherry Glazerr’s bite for hallway bravado; King Krule’s lo-fi stagger for late-night drift; Johnson’s gentle closer for acceptance. Together they deliver a coastal diary — not glossy surf rock but the private weather inside it.

Genres & themes, in phases: minimalist acoustic score — grief, resolve; indie folk/pop — tenderness and nostalgia; alt/lo-fi — alienation; dream-garage — drift and denial. The mix charts a line from splintered home to self-chosen horizon.

How It Was Made

Directors Emmett & Brendan Malloy tapped Gustavo Santaolalla (two-time Oscar winner) for the score and built a compact soundtrack around the world the teens inhabit. The album arrived via Brushfire/TPV in December 2017, pairing three Santaolalla cues with licensed tracks from artists like Bahamas, Cherry Glazerr, King Krule, Tomorrows Tulips and Jack Johnson. The production’s own soundtrack site emphasized the intent: score as emotional undertow; songs as cultural texture of coastal L.A.

Tracks & Scenes

Selected placements with scene context (timestamps vary by edition; the cues below are verified as album/film uses).

“My Love” (Bahamas)

Where it plays:

Early high-school stretch as Medina drifts between locker-row glances and beach plans; a softer interlude before family turbulence spikes. Non-diegetic.

Why it matters:

Warm guitars and unhurried phrasing sell the innocence that the story keeps threatening to take away.

“Teenage Girl” (Cherry Glazerr)

Where it plays:

Party/bedroom montage — speakers on a dresser, friends crowding the frame; the song’s snarl tracks a mask of confidence. Diegetic bleed.

Why it matters:

Attitude as armor; it sharpens Medina’s edges without sanding down her tenderness.

“Easy Easy” (King Krule)

Where it plays:

Night-drive shuffle and lonely sidewalk returns after a blow-up; streetlights flick past like drum hits. Non-diegetic.

Why it matters:

Lo-fi sway to mirror the wobble in Medina’s world — cool on the surface, frayed underneath.

“Glued to You” (Tomorrows Tulips)

Where it plays:

Beach-lot hang as boards rattle in a trunk; it lingers under small talk and bigger subtext. Source-adjacent.

Why it matters:

Garage haze that smells like wax and salt — the film’s casual coastal register.

“Baby” (Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti feat. Dâm-Funk)

Where it plays:

Intimate after-hours beat; a woozy slow-dance cue that makes the room tilt. Non-diegetic.

Why it matters:

Desire rendered slippery — promise and danger in one syrupy line.

“Only the Ocean” (Jack Johnson)

Where it plays:

Final scene into credits: shoreline light, the water carrying the last word. Non-diegetic; recorded specifically to close the film.

Why it matters:

A forgiving coda; after riptides and rifts, the horizon feels open again.

Score spotlights (Gustavo Santaolalla)

“Tribes of Palos Verdes Theme”

Opens and recurs — plaintive guitar and air; the film’s compass.

“Jim’s Theme”

Brooding figure that shadows Medina’s twin; grief and gravity in a few notes.

“Facedown”

Low, steady pressure for consequences arriving — a cue that feels like undertow.

Notes & Trivia

• Composer: The film’s music is by Gustavo Santaolalla; the official album includes three of his cues alongside songs by various artists.
• Release: The soundtrack streeted December 8, 2017 on Brushfire/TPV (digital, vinyl, CD); the film opened a week earlier via IFC Films.
• Built-for-picture cuts: Bahamas contributed “My Love” for the high-school arc; Jack Johnson recorded “Only the Ocean” specifically for the finale.
• Compact by design: The album is a tight 10-track set — score bookends plus eight character-driven songs.
• Directors: Brothers Emmett and Brendan Malloy, longtime music-video stylists, leaned on music’s POV to keep the drama intimate.

Reception & Quotes

Reception to the film was mixed-positive; the soundtrack drew praise for restraint and for matching coastal mood over cliché surf cues.

“Santaolalla’s acoustic breath lets the Pacific haunt every frame.” — soundtrack notes

“A minor, alluringly atmospheric variation on the coming-of-age story.” — critics’ consensus

Availability: Streaming on major services; vinyl and CD editions circulated through soundtrack retailers. Selected tracks (“Theme,” “Only the Ocean”) have official uploads.

Interesting Facts

• Brushfire link: The soundtrack was issued under Brushfire Records’ umbrella — hence the Johnson/Bahamas presence.
• Three-cue sampler: The album’s Santaolalla selections act like chapter headings rather than full score suites.
• Not just surf rock: The needle-drops favor indie/lo-fi hues over genre-expected twang.
• Directors from music videos: The Malloy brothers’ music-video background shows in how performances and montage beats are staged.
• Official minisite: The production launched a dedicated soundtrack page outlining the score/song concept and finale choice.

Technical Info

• Title: The Tribes of Palos Verdes (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
• Year: 2017
• Type: Songs + original score (hybrid album)
• Composer: Gustavo Santaolalla
• Selected notable placements: “My Love” (Bahamas); “Teenage Girl” (Cherry Glazerr); “Easy Easy” (King Krule); “Glued to You” (Tomorrows Tulips); “Baby” (Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti feat. Dâm-Funk); “Only the Ocean” (Jack Johnson); score cues “Theme,” “Jim’s Theme,” “Facedown.”
• Release context: Album released Dec 8, 2017; film released Dec 1, 2017 (IFC Films)
• Label: Brushfire Records (under exclusive license from TPV Film Production, LLC)
• Album formats: Digital, CD, vinyl

Questions & Answers

Who composed the score?

Gustavo Santaolalla — his acoustic-driven cues frame the story’s emotional arc.

Was “Only the Ocean” written for the movie?

Yes. Jack Johnson recorded it specifically to close the film.

Is the album mostly songs or score?

Mostly songs, with three key score cues that serve as anchors.

Where can I stream it?

On major platforms — the official 10-track album is available digitally and on vinyl/CD.

Which track best captures Medina’s interior life?

Bahamas’ “My Love” for tenderness, and Santaolalla’s “Facedown” for the undertow.

Key Contributors

Entity	Relation	Target
Emmett Malloy & Brendan Malloy	directed	The Tribes of Palos Verdes (film)
Gustavo Santaolalla	composed score for	The Tribes of Palos Verdes
Bahamas (Afie Jurvanen)	wrote & performed	“My Love” (soundtrack)
Cherry Glazerr	performed	“Teenage Girl”
King Krule	performed	“Easy Easy”
Tomorrows Tulips	performed	“Glued to You”
Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti feat. Dâm-Funk	performed	“Baby”
Jack Johnson	wrote & performed	“Only the Ocean” (finale)
Brushfire Records / TPV Film Production, LLC	released	Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
IFC Films	distributed	The Tribes of Palos Verdes (film)

Sources: Official trailer (IFC Films); film page & credits; Apple Music/Spotify album listings; Brushfire/production soundtrack site; retail/vinyl listings; soundtrack press note; critics’ consensus summaries.

Unlikely you know any of the musicians performing in this collection: Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti or Gustavo Santaolalla or maybe Tomorrows Tulips. They do sing thematic songs like ‘Baby’, ‘Glued to You’ or ‘Only the Ocean’. They all depict the ease and hardness of life when you’re an adolescent, especially heard in ‘Teenage Girl’s lyrics revealing all these little components of a teenage life. The film starring Jennifer Garner is a drama depicting two intertwined personal dramatic pieces of a family, which just recently moved to LA. At first, they are doing well – looking around, meeting people and discovering new places. But then, a father of a family falls in love with another woman wanting to abandon his pregnant in the first-trimester wife. Then gradually comes into play the second drama – of a girl of the family who’s falling in love with a neighboring boy. They start to hang out together, which is not loved by another girl who’s breathing unevenly towards this boy. Then they all start to fight in words and fists and eventually they have a tight knot that may only be chopped off to be solved. The film is a little about love but a lot of bad feelings people have. Personally, we condemn a man who decides to leave a pregnant wife. At least, why did he make her pot-bellied if he can’t restrain his recently arisen feelings? They’d have to go a long way together again with this little child or she now has to make an abortion to free from a knot of obligations that at once seem so fragile. Urban drama with nothing but a gloomy feeling after everything is over. Ordinary people in ordinary place experience strong but still ordinary feelings that must entail consequences. Lyrics of the most part of songs are the same not remarkable thing if to put it frankly.

November, 29th 2025

Find more info about 'The Tribes of Palos Verdes' on Internet Movie Database and Rotten Tomatoes

---

A-Z Lyrics Universe

---