In 2010, chiptune duo George & Jonathan knocked our socks off with their debut The Best Music. They quickly followed this up with a cute holiday album, The Best Christmas.
But the official follow-up to “The Best Music” was their November 2011 release “Beautiful Lifestyle.” How does it compare to their debut? How does it compare to the rest of the awesome chip music out there?
After the jump, do the finger waggle with us. We’re going in-depth on this sophomore release. (more…)
Rich “Disasterpeace” Vreeland is a powerhouse and a true workhorse of a composer. As revealed on his vgmdb artist page, he manages to release four or more albums a year, an eclectic mix of original works and game soundtracks.
In 2011, two of his original works were “Rise of the Obsidian Interstellar” and “Deorbit.” The former is available on bandcamp for a $1 minimum (suggested price $5, or $10 for the CD version), and the latter is in the same state, though no CD version is offered (perhaps because it is a shorter work). “Deorbit” is something of a follow-up album to “Rise of the Obsidian Interstellar” as it has unreleased tracks originally planned for that album, though it is also a “catch-all” album in that it has other previously-unreleased tunes included.
After the jump, you’ll find the results of my critical ear versus these two albums, both of which were featured in the Indie Game Music Bundle 3. (more…)
I’ve listened to a few tunes from zircon (real name Andrew Aversa, husband of vocalist Jillian Aversa) in my time. He’s done some cool arrangements for OverClocked ReMix in his time, he’s released some original albums, and he’s worked on a number of games as well (most recently, on Soul Calibur V, which is a pretty big deal!).
As part of the Indie Game Music Bundle 3, zircon offered up his soundtrack to the 2009 XBLA release Fittest. Real talk: I hadn’t even heard this soundtrack until the bundle’s release. So it’s safe to say that I don’t have my finger on the pulse of the VGM scene, at least not as thoroughly or as often as I tell myself I do. Shame, shame, Mr. Gann!
But enough about me. What about zircon’s soundtrack for Fittest? You’ll find out by joining us after the jump. (more…)
The composer for the Noitu Love indie platformer/shooter games, Joakim Sandberg (also the creators of the games he writes music for), decided to release a ridiculous collection of music as part of the GMB3 “bonus” tier ($10 minimum). This “album,” Entitled Mubla Evol Ution (that’s “Noitu Love Album” backwards), is actually a compilation of five separate works, all by Sandberg.
I’m fairly certain what Sandberg has done is without precedent, in that he didn’t care to treat these five separate releases as entirely separate. None of them have individual album art (what you see above is all you get), and each folder begins the track numbering as 01. It’s as though we have a “five disc” album, even though it’s digital-only.
Take note: this new precedent is something I’m not really enjoying. Organizational issues aside, you’re probably wondering more about whether or not I enjoy the music. Else, you’d likely not be reading OSV. So, to learn more, join me after the jump!
Back in the hay-day of video gaming, there was a genre of game that was coined the “platformer” — in reality a 2D game where your main objective is traversing over the screen and through levels that consisted of many obstacles; most of which were platforms and the like. It was a popular type of game through the 90s that, within the past few years, has really been making a comeback in grand retro-style. Downloadable games seem to be leading the charge recently, with games like Braid and ‘Splosion Man becoming hits in their own right, enticing players with oldschool finger-twitching gameplay.
One of the more overlooked games for the Xbox Live Indie Arcade was a release earlier this year titled Astroman: a platform side-scrolling game featuring an adorable little spaceman romping through the solar system trying to repair his ship as he blasts aliens to bits as he goes. It’s a short, cute game that goes for about $3 on XBLA. However, what really shines about the game isn’t it’s nostalgic gameplay, but rather the music, which has gotten some well-deserved attention due to the recent release of the Indie Game Music Bundle 3.
A short but sweet original soundtrack crafted by composer Jeff Ball, known for his composition and violin work on games such Mass Effect 3 and Monkey Island 2: Special Edition, he has delivered some fantastic work for the little indie title and really makes the game shine. Journey with us into the star-stricken foray of music that is the Astroman Original Soundtrack. (more…)
There’s this totally awesome three-man sound team from the UK that we at OSV have neglected to talk about as much as we ought. They’ve done a fair beat of music in the last three years, and I suspect they’ll only get better with time.
Of course, I’m talking about HyperDuck SoundWorks. I really appreciate the work they’ve done, especially the ridiculously good soundtrack for A.R.E.S: Extinction Agenda (which was actually featured in the first GMB). Someday I’ll review that album, because I adore it.
But today, we’re here to talk about a much smaller soundtrack they first released in April 2011 and is presently being featured in the Indie Game Music Bundle 3. That soundtrack is for The Blocks Cometh. But now, Chris et al, be forewarned! Judgment upon your music cometh! After the jump, that is. (more…)
Some people wait a lifetime for a soundtrack like this. Others wait until it’s included in a sweet bundle.
The soundtrack for inMomentum has been weaved together by the illustrious Gareth Coker. This guy clearly had a sense of what the game was about and wrote the music in a way that really fits the game’s style. The digital booklet, featuring awesome concept art from the game, serves as a reminder as to the consistency of vision and style between the game and its score.
More after the jump. Apologies to Kelly Clarkson for the riff on her classic hit (except, not really; I never want to do piano accompaniment to that song for a wedding ever again). (more…)
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