Track Listing
Trigger – Major Lazer & Khalid & Death Stranding: Timefall Ghost – Au/Ra x Alan Walker Death Stranding – Chvrches Yellow Box – The Neighbourhood Meanwhile… In Genova – THE S.L.P. Ludens – Bring Me The Horizon Born In The Slumber – Flora cash Sing To Me – MISSIO Death Stranding: Timefall, like its video-game counterpart, is a soundtrack of many influences and ideas, some that clash and don’t quite work, and others that absolutely do. From pop and rock influences, across to chillout and even elements of funk, there’s a myriad of different artists and genres that have been brought together here to form an audible journey influenced by Hideo Kojima’s long-awaited solitary title. With clever lyrical cohesion tying everything together but a tonally jarring jump between genres, Timefall is likely to mirror the public perception of the game and polarise opinion. With a run-time clocking in at a little under 30 minutes and 8 different tracks to choose from, Timefall is a fleeting experience at best, one that will almost certainly see you pick out one or two songs to save in another playlist while leaving the rest. At least until you see through to the end of the game, that is. Seeing Bring Me The Horizon, Khalid and Chvrches all on the same track-list is certainly something I didn’t think I’d see, especially for a video game soundtrack, but with each adopting a different tempo, style and tone, Timefall lacks that cohesion needed that other soundtracks manage. Thankfully, the lyrics and a few individual gems help keep everything tied together nicely. Chvrches’ ‘Death Stranding’ is a suitably upbeat, dreamy track and arguably one of the highlights of the soundtrack. Given it’s actually the song that plays during the ending of the game, I do question its inclusion at the beginning of the album, given the musical journey this should be adopting. With ideas around connecting people and togetherness, it’s arguably one of the more thematically relevant songs to the game. By contrast, Yellow Box perfectly captures the moody, post-apocalyptic vibes too, with poignant, regret-fueled lyrics about rebuilding and starting again. The trouble is, this plays straight after the upbeat Chvrches song and tonally, this feels at odds with what’s come before. Another highlight comes from Bring Me The Horizon’s thought provoking track Luden too. “A world covered in cables was never wired to last” is such a symbolic, clever lyric here that absolutely reflects Death Stranding’s world. These moments certainly help build hype for this game, especially given this has dropped on the eve of Hideo Kojima’s big blockbuster title. While it’s far from the best soundtrack of the year, there should be enough here to whet the appetite before diving into this juggernaut of a game tomorrow.