Stranger Things 2 (A Netflix Original Series Soundtrack) [Deluxe]

“Stranger Things,” Netflix’s sci-fi success story, hit the zeitgeist last year with the force of an invisible telekinetic blast from a psychic pre-teen on the run from government operatives. It did this by unabashedly culling references from 1980s pop culture, repurposing the pulpy horror tropes of the era into a story that resonated with a contemporary audience. There’s nothing wrong with “style over substance” as a guiding aesthetic for a series like this; when done well, that sense of surface-level nostalgia can help create a world that feels both familiar and intriguing. With music, however, the same effect can be trickier to pull off. More often than not, when artists wholesale copy well-known motifs and themes, you’re left with an empty pastiche or an uninspired facsimile of a better musician. Kyle Dixon and Michael Stein, the two electronic composers who have scored both seasons of “Stranger Things,” don’t have that problem. Their lush, deep music gave the show’s first season a crucial emotional dimension, and their second time around once again steers away from cliché, maintaining the pace they’ve set for themselves while subtly shifting tactics just enough to keep fans hooked.

Discovered as members of the Austin, Texas experimental synth four-piece S U R V I V E, Dixon and Stein have gone on to a level of mainstream success thanks to “Stranger Things” that would have otherwise been unthinkable for a band so heady and niche. In September, they took home the Emmy for Outstanding Original Main Title Theme, putting them in the company of past winners like Randy Newman, Danny Elfman, and John Williams—and raising yet another expectation for the duo to live up to.

The pitch-perfect genre influences that made both S U R V I V E and Dixon and Stein’s first-season soundtrack immediately relatable for ‘80s synth buffs are front and center, yet again, on Stranger Things 2. You can hear echoes of Tangerine Dream and John Carpenter, as well as the ethereal unease of Mike Oldfield’s “Tubular Bells, Part 1” (also known as the theme to The Exorcist) and Mark Snow’s “X-Files” score. Beyond these fan-favorite references, drawn from highbrow and populist sci-fi and horror scoring alike, Dixon and Stein weave in original interpretations of more contemporary soundtrack work. Pale imitations of Hans Zimmer’s Inception score have plagued filmmaking since that movie was released seven years ago; here, “Descent Into the Rift” makes similar bursts of atonal keyboards sound freshly jarring. The track builds around screeches of dying machinery, imploding into darkness, as the void slowly fills with climbing synth blips and misty, creaky chords.

Beyond these well-executed allusions and reinterpretations, Dixon and Stein’s deep knowledge of analog synthesizers lets them explore the full gamut of sounds and moods created by their machines, from ambient, gliding tones to harsh industrial blasts. As soon as you’re lulled into into a sense of security by a warmer, dreamier track—say “She Wants Me to Find Her,” with its almost new age soundscape cresting like a hazy sunrise—Dixon and Stein begin ratcheting up the dread until you’re caught off guard by “It’s a Trap,” which sounds like a bunch of silverware being thrown down a flight of iron stairs in slow motion.

For much of its running time, though, Stranger Things 2 finds the space to be exactly what you’d expect, which is prudent for a sequel at this level of popularity. By the time you reach track 12, “Looking for a Way Out,” Dixon and Stein are revisiting the arpeggiated, squelching synths of the show’s intro theme, unleashing the same unsettling sci-fi aura to maximum effect. One of the longer tracks on the record, “Symptoms,” deploys almost three minutes of wandering, ebullient notes before launching into another Carpenter-esque rhythmic melody. While its title is obviously steeped in the lore of the show, “Eggo in the Snow” sounds exactly like that: a frozen grid trapped on a fluffy cloud of ice.

All of this color and shading comes from Dixon and Stein’s dedication to the art of the synth, which is ultimately what sets their soundtrack work apart from, say, Kavinsky’s opening theme for Drive or Trent Reznor’s more subdued collaborations with Atticus Ross. While Stranger Things 2 may not necessarily be best enjoyed on its own, it’s vivid and complex enough to be more than just a companion piece to the TV series. And if it’s not as in-depth or immediate as S U R V I V E’s full-on cosmic assault, it doesn’t need to be. While staying true to the series' airtight aesthetic, Dixon and Stein continue to find ways to push beyond.