On paper it sounds like progressive rock, and there is some of that ambience, though the sonics favor early videogame music just as much. A steady electro-pulse and buzzing bass tones keep the rhythms percolating as synths and guitars exchange melodies with dramatic flourishes. Fortunately, having the pages turn in front of you isn’t necessary to enjoy the sounds of these three tracks. But it’s for a comic, instead of a film, one revolving around a strange, powerful weapon and the Keeper charged with guarding it. Mysterious ensemble Magic Sword also produces a soundtrack with Legend EP, the group’s second release. Though not as compelling as Moore’s work with his main band, The Mind’s Eye still catches the ear. Most of the pieces are under two minutes, so they die before they get old, though the closing “End Credits,” which encapsulates most of the ideas Moore put into the soundtrack, is a significant exception. That’s not to say he’s not a master of texture and movement – a tune like “The Shot” brings on the perfect atmosphere for the horror flick it supports, with just enough energy to keep from being wallpaper but not enough to distract from the action. As such, it’s much harder to divorce from the visuals it’s meant to accompany than his work with Zombi. The Mind’s Eye is Steve Moore’s latest (though the film came out in 2015), following Cub earlier this year. Zombi has been at the forefront of the synthwave revival for years, and, as with S U R V I V E, one of its members has a side gig as a soundtrack composer. RR7349 deserves to be spun as often as Stranger Things.
The creamy “Dirt,” the hazy “Sorcerer” and the pulsing “Wardenclyffe” utilize gorgeous electronic tones and enigmatic atmospheres that encourage you to make up your own bizarre 80s filmic artifact. The group’s second album flows like the score to an obscure 80s science fiction flick, the kind that thrived on VHS and is remembered more for the music than the visuals.
While well-deserved, the success of that series has overshadowed the band’s big-league recording debut RR7349. The quartet has toiled away in the shadows of Austin’s music scene since 2008 before suddenly being thrust into the spotlight when two of its members provided the soundtrack to the Netflix hit Stranger Things. Much of the artists creating it labored in near-obscurity for years before the axis shifted their way once again, including S U R V I V E. As previously discussed, it’s been both strange and rewarding to see the rise once again of the kind of active instrumental synth rock that used to wash over the landscape in the wake of Tangerine Dream.