While the show itself is clear about its influences, its soundtrack manages to do this too, while ultimately culminating as an in-depth and invigorating piece of atmospheric electronic music.
While certainly many will picture the ordeals of Mike, Nancy, and Chief Hopper while listening, this is music that also stands on its own, a work by turns eerie and sparse, but also tinged in the warm nostalgia of bike rides at dusk and the loyalty of friends. The score is ultimately more than a mood. It’s a world unto itself.
It is truly possible to just get lost in the Stranger Things universe through it's soundtrack, whether you have the visuals to back it up or not.
Evocative, thrilling, and dynamic, it’s everything you could possibly want from a TV score. On its own, it’s one of the most refreshingly forward-thinking electronic releases of the year, even if the tracklist could use some cleaning up.
The canvas they paint on is remarkably spare and restrained: At any given point, it feels as if there are only a handful of sounds in the stereo field, and what at first comes off as a limited range slowly reveals itself as the opposite.
Removed from the narrative of the series itself, every emotion is given the space to take its own form – and the result is as mysteriously powerful as the world that it hails from.
Even with sounds inextricably linked to the late '70s and early '80s, this music tells its story with character, poise and a fresh perspective.
To soundtrack one of the most popular shows on Netflix, Kyle Dixon & Michael Stein of S U R V I V E were cast to do the part. While the soundtrack impressively kindles the show's '80s theme, it fails to be engaging the entire way through.
Whether you love it or hate it, you can't go anywhere nowadays without hearing of or a reference to 'Stranger Things', one of Netflix's most popular TV shows. The show's popularity rose shortly after its release due to the lovable cast, high-quality ... read more
This is one of my absolute favorite soundtracks. Especially the more somber moments and happier moments I think stand extremely well on their own from the show, and a lot of the spookier portions are excellent too. I think the show wouldn’t have hit as hard without this exact group of tracks being the score and it really is some of the best ambient synthwave whatever you want to call it released.
1 | Stranger Things 1:07 | 100 |
2 | Kids 2:38 | 88 |
3 | Nancy and Barb 1:05 | 73 |
4 | This Isn't You 2:23 | 81 |
5 | Lay-Z-Boy 1:34 | 74 |
6 | Friendship 1:12 | 78 |
7 | Eleven 3:14 | 72 |
8 | A Kiss 1:25 | 72 |
9 | Castle Byers 2:47 | 83 |
10 | Hawkins 5:00 | 68 |
11 | The Upside Down 5:07 | 73 |
12 | After Sarah 1:25 | 73 |
13 | One Blink for Yes 1:46 | 72 |
14 | Photos in the Woods 4:32 | 73 |
15 | Fresh Blood 1:16 | 81 |
16 | Lamps 1:15 | 78 |
17 | Hallucinations 1:36 | 73 |
18 | Hanging Lights 1:33 | 73 |
19 | Biking to School 0:44 | 74 |
20 | Are You Sure? 2:26 | 71 |
21 | Agents 0:50 | 76 |
22 | Papa 1:27 | 77 |
23 | Cops Are Good at Finding 1:08 | |
24 | No Weapons 3:24 | |
25 | Walking Through the Nether 1:19 | |
26 | She'll Kill You 2:05 | |
27 | Run Away 1:47 | |
28 | No Autopsy 1:03 | |
29 | Dispatch 0:41 | |
30 | Joyce and Lonnie Fighting 1:02 | |
31 | Lights Out 1:04 | |
32 | Hazmat Suits 1:43 | |
33 | Theoretically 1:33 | |
34 | You Can Talk to Me 0:53 | |
35 | What Else Is There to Do? 1:59 | |
36 | Hawkins Lab 2:37 |
#12 | / | Gorilla vs. Bear |
#13 | / | Norman Records |
#20 | / | Consequence of Sound |
#35 | / | FACT |
#47 | / | Rolling Stone |
/ | AllMusic |