The pixel brown plane shooter that can, has as much of a retro soundtrack as the game does visual style. It’s deceptive though because there’s a lot of trickery in Kozilek’s melodies that separate it away from a lot of the chip tune music out there.
Opener “Luftrauser” opens with a marching beat and a driving bass line that raves in slow motion as the beat punches and pushes through the mix. Then for its chorus it’s as if the chip set switches from the early 90’s to the late 00’s as it then being played down a phone. All the synths of a military anthem are being pushed down the line together, crushing and clashing over each other. It’s a bit harsh on the years but has a very nostalgic effect. “Going to War” to a more 16 bit styled track with a militant marching theme full of brass samples and metalic synths. It’s rousing and full of pride. “Heavyrauser” has a great chorus riff which has a falling chord pattern and then a brass motif as it rolls round and round. The actual verse sections are more electronic chip pulses which match the opening track. “Rest in Peace” is a complex melody which sounds slightly detuned but doesn’t particularly stand out when you then dive to the anarchic “Laserauser” which sounds like rave fog horns sampled and made into 16 bit samples. It pitch bends to each of the notes and then returns to the same chorus that the other Rauser tracks have. “Lazy Hanger” is more chilled out as it hip hops across its short stay before “Assaultrauser” follows the same pattern as the other rauser tracks but it probably the most chirpy of the lot with happy chord stabbing keyboards bashing out the verses, as each rauser track tries to out shout the last. “Trickrauser” doesn’t feel quite as big and therefore doesn’t feel like it’s in the right place however “Devil from the Deep” goes all round to deliver thrills, spills and drama with a synth orchestra. It rounds off the soundtrack beautifully with the precision and cleanness of a military operation.
Kozilek’s “Luftrausers” is interesting more than it is immediately memorable in how you can twist and bend a song structure and give it a different feel and tension factor. Does that mean the soundtrack feels quite samey? Yes it does, but if you like it, you’ll like it all the more.