Roll For Excitement - Spelljams

On August 16th Wizards of the Coast released Spelljammer: Adventures in Space to much anticipation. Much more quietly they also partnered with independent record label Kill Rock Stars to release, on the same day, a soundtrack accompanying the release. The 19 tracks span over an hour and a half and cover a wide range of music styles, blends and genres was produced by Chris Funk (most known for his work as a member of indie band The Decemberists).

Roll For Excitement: 15. The roll is high because this would be a great thing for WotC to include for upcoming campaign setting book releases. The execution on this particular album is evocative of 80's synth pop but those sounds do not make up the whole album. This could have been more effective if it also came with an all-instrumental mix of the album. Some of the songs are a bit too in your face to be played while running or playing in a D&D session. However, the music and orchestration are perfect for Wildspace and the Astral Sea in general.

Stand-out Tracks:

Seeds of Destruction by Magic Sword: A Dark Side of the Moon era Pink Floyd style classic rocker.

Space Is A Place by Reggie Watts: A Dungeon Master style spoken word intro gives way to George Clinton style R&B silliness.

Left Hand Path by Mikaela Davis: A Jewel style singer/songwriter coffee house song with a story to tell.

Moon Dancer by Y La Bamba: A Yo La Tengo stargazing indie rock song the evokes laid back beach vibes.

Ghost of the Nautiloid by Nolan Potter's Nightmare Band: A perfect blend of The Doors' Riders on the Storm and Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas.

chaotic.evil.astral.elves by Califone: A country bluegrass romper with raspy vocals threatening to fuck you up.