All of Borderlands 2‘s environmental music is pretty great. It’s fitting, subtle enough to set the mood but powerful enough for your ears to perk up and notice.
https://kotaku.com/my-favorite-music-from-borderlands-2-isnt-on-the-offici-5945021
The first campaign add-on to Gearbox’s sequel is Captain Scarlett and Her Pirate’s Booty. There are a lot of things that are great about this new DLC: the loot, the characters, the awesome, awesome new vehicle
https://kotaku.com/some-unconventional-uses-for-the-awesome-vehicle-in-bor-5951806
Some vague plot line spoilers follow.
But one thing that got me to sit up in excitement while playing was this damn song above, composed by Raison Varner. I loved it so much that I’d stop right there in my tracks to listen and savor. I noticed this particular track—that Gearbox was so kind enough to send to us—just before reaching the lighthouse that Captain Scarlett sends you on a mission to find. The music changes when you transition from in combat to out, so I lingered before jumping down to what I knew was going to be a chaotic battle just so I could listen a bit longer.
The overall smooth track starts off slow, hitting peaks here and there. It feels like a good Western movie complement, and I can totally visualize a cowboy dragging his clinking metal boots towards the horizon where the fire-glowing sun shines down on his dusty, rugged outfit. I imagine he’s just come out of a tough battle, looking for water but too proud to show his exhaustion. Music lets my imagination run wild, and that’s why I love it so much.
But the end of the song (at around 1:10 in) is where it really gets good. (Unfortunately you can only hear a fraction of it in our sound clip. Fortunately, I found the most quiet YouTube video I could—to your left, courtesy of ShockBlastMedia—that features a lengthier listen. Just be wary of some message in the bottle location spoilers.)
https://kotaku.com/one-easy-tip-for-finding-buried-treasure-in-borderlands-5952548
It feels more romantic. I wanted to close my eyes and dance my head along to it. The gentle yet rapid guitar stringing reminded me of classical middle eastern music: soft and exotic all at once. It dips and rises with fluidity. My musically-influenced imagination traded the Western picture to something more resembling the plight of an assassin: subtle, hidden in the shadows, yet powerful and deadly. And, happily, that’s exactly what a lot of Varner’s work entails. This one is just my favorite. So far.
