This City Is Ours Season 2 Soundtrack

Returning for its high-stakes second run on BBC One and BBC iPlayer, This City Is Ours expands its gritty Liverpool territory into sun-bleached Spanish hideaways and escalating international gang wars. As Michael Kavanagh (James Nelson-Joyce) and Diana Williams (Hannah Onslow) attempt to flee the carnage of cartel member Ricardo's death, they collide head-on with Ricardo's ruthless brother, Felipe Guzman (Álvaro Morte). Back home, the power vacuum pulls hardened veteran Ozzie Thompson (Shaun Evans) right back into the syndicate. To underscore this sprawling psychological and geographical war, composer Rael Jones and music supervisor Mark Kirby curated a masterclass in sonic contrast.

Rael Jones, renowned for his versatility across major European television productions, anchors Season 2 with a brooding orchestral and electronic palette. Jones leans heavily on distorted cellos, sustained brass drones, and nervous modular pulses that capture the encroaching dread surrounding Michael. Rather than relying on standard procedural rhythms, the original score breathes with tension, swelling during violent standoffs and sinking into intimate, uneasy stillness when characters face impossible betrayals.

Balancing the score is Mark Kirby's eclectic soundtrack curation. Across the eight episodes, the show seamlessly maneuvers through vintage soul classics, iconic dance anthems, and reflective indie ballads. The presence of iconic tracks from Donna Summer, Dusty Springfield, Dinah Washington, and Frank Sinatra lends an operatic weight to domestic power struggles, while timeless electronic beats from Inner City, Corona, and Fragma evoke the sensory euphoria of Liverpool nightlife colliding with dangerous reality.

Key Episodic Themes & Musical Moments

In episode one, Matt Monro's classic On Days Like These opens the season with lush vintage irony as Michael and Diana believe they have found sanctuary abroad, quickly shattered as the reality of cartel vengeance closes in. Episode two intensifies the personal toll, contrasting Donna Summer's disco heat in Love To Love You Baby with the quiet heartbreak of Dusty Springfield's If You Go Away.

Episode five delivers the season's centerpiece sequence at Jamie and Melissa's engagement party. The musical momentum escalates across eight featured tracks, shifting from the haunting sorrow of Dinah Washington's This Bitter Earth into high-energy European club beats like Fragma's Toca's Miracle and retro crooners like Bobby Darin and Dean Martin, perfectly scoring the fragile truce before catastrophe erupts.

The final chapters push the narrative to its emotional limit. Episode six features James Brown's soul masterwork It's a Man's, Man's, Man's World and Michael Kiwanuka's stunning Solid Ground, while the season finale culminates with Sinéad O'Connor's raw rendition of Trouble of the World and Rodriguez's introspective Cause, bringing poetic closure to the sacrifices Michael has made.

Season 2 Production & Music Credits