James Nguyen’s Birdemic: Shock and Terror has been hailed as one of the most entertaining indie films ever made… albeit perhaps not for reasons the filmmaker had in mind. When I was presented with opportunity to write some music for the sequel, how could I say no?

This drum-and-guitar-driven cue accompanies the film’s perhaps tragic, perhaps confusing, but definitely avian finale.

(Click on the play button to stream, or the cue title to download.)

	The Birds Depart (Again)

Clearly I don’t mean that the game is a lower body extremity. This music plays during Wizard Ops Tactics‘ introductory moments, providing a sense of anticipatory excitement and setting the stage for the (literal) magic to come. I’ve cheated here and merged two related musical moments from the score in order to give the material reasonable duration for stand-alone listening. Enjoy!

(Click on the play button to stream, or the cue title to download.)

	The Game is Afoot

This week’s selection from Wizard Ops Tactics portrays the game’s swamp level as a damp and ominous place. Plaintive woodwind harmonies ease in and out over low string undulations, while excerpts of the game’s main theme recur in the brass. And to show you how lazy I am: the low string lines themselves are just the main theme, slowed down and set to 7/8 time.

(Click on the play button to stream, or the cue title to download.)

	The Murky Swamp

Continuing the music progression from Wizard Ops Tactics, this week’s cue accompanies the game’s Army Builder sequence with an anticipatory mood and almost-obligatory snare drum rhythms. A martial melody recurs throughout the piece, starting with the low strings, then subsequently in horns, violas, and low woodwinds.

(Click on the play button to stream, or the cue title to download.)

	The Army Assembles

This music selection from Wizard Ops Tactics takes on a distinctly pirate-y tone, as befits a game setting with beach umbrellas, cannons, and a giant frigate.

(Click on the play button to stream, or the cue title to download.)

	Beach Battle!

Another music selection from Wizard Ops Tactics, this cue accompanies a winter-themed battleground. High-register strings and harp help reinforce the icy visuals, while the low brass stabs remind us that we’re not at a peace conference.

(Click on the play button to stream, or the cue title to download.)

	Wizardly Winter

This week’s music selection is the main theme from the freshly-released iOS/Android game Wizard Ops Tactics.

The original Wizard Ops game was a frenetic action-shooter, whereas the successor is a turn-based tactical game. It features the characters and visuals, but completely different gameplay. This raised an interesting question: how to keep a sense of musical continuity between such different experiences?

This cue tackles that problem by reprising the original Wizard Ops theme (which you can hear in full sorcerous glory here) in a more stately, marchlike arrangement. It’s preceded by a slightly mysterious theme that’s unique to the Tactics universe, and recurs throughout the score.

(Click on the play button to stream, or the cue title to download.)

	Wizard Ops Tactics