[2] While writing the score, Greenwood rendered the 1920s music of Montana as uncanny, foreboding rhythms which feel essential to the film's mix of oddity and dread in the concluding moments, that culminates "a disquieting cascade of disparate notes".

"[3] Greenwood wanted to avoid the "sweeping strings" typical of Westerns, opting instead to use atonal brass sounds in order to emphasize the "alien and forbidding" nature of the film's landscapes.

"[2] As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and the gathering restrictions in place, Greenwood was unable to work with an orchestra and had to record much of the cello parts on his own, layering them to achieve an orchestral texture.

[7][8] Calling about this approach, Greenwood said that "This film has such an unusual tone: Me playing pastiche American folk music would never suit all the repressed conflict or Phil’s dark, angry intelligence".

[9] On October 27, 2021, Jonny Greenwood announced the release of two songs: "25 Years" and "West" through digital platforms.

[10][11] Variety magazine, debuted the tracks exclusively online, featuring a review for the first track saying "it is an infectious melody, which orchestrating a dark, brooding selection blended with a light honky-tonk undertone that matches perfectly with the period" and listeners "may find more of his signature stylistic eclecticism, which showcases an emotional pastiche from his work on The Master (2012)".

[14] Pitchfork's Brian Howe wrote "Greenwood must be the only artist who has both headlined Coachella and collaborated with Krzysztof Penderecki, the Polish composer whose turbulent tone clusters he often evokes in The Power of the Dog.

That double image perfectly exemplifies Greenwood’s own synthesis of pulp-Western brawn and refined symphonic emotion.

"[15] James Southall of Movie Wave wrote "A word about the album, by the way – with cues presented radically out of sequence in terms of their appearance in the film, and with some missing – it’s been produced the old-fashioned way, with the optimal listening experience in mind – and is all the stronger for it.