Ola Strandh turned post-pandemic D.C. into one of the most atmospheric open worlds of 2019 and the score is a huge reason why. Thirty-five tracks that shift between eerie stillness and full-on combat chaos. "White House" carries this heavy weight to it, all solemn low strings and muted brass, like walking through a monument that's become a forward operating base.
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"Hyena Hunt" flips the energy completely with aggressive percussion and these snarling synth textures. "Potomac" does something really interesting with space, letting sounds decay into silence before the next hit. It breathes.
"Food Court" and "Diner Poison" both nail that unsettling feeling of everyday places gone wrong. If you explored D.C. without fast traveling, this score was doing all the heavy lifting.