A highlight of every new edition, EA SPORTS FIFA 18's soundtrack just dropped – and it boasts perhaps the series’ most diverse and eclectic soundtrack to date.
Just about everything, including AfroBeat-influenced Puerto Rican rap, lush chillwave, shimmering French indie pop, and the introspective heartland rock of The War On Drugs, comes together to form a dynamic, gripping mosaic of some of the most interesting new music the world has to offer.
The diversity in this soundtrack is remarkable. In the set of 41 songs, over a dozen countries are represented, spanning countless genres and all manners of ubiquity—from international hitmakers to the newest of up-and-comers.
For every track that will bring you to a new corner of the world, there’s one that feels like home. The bold, intimate alt-R&B cut “Dangerous” by The xx grooves along on a slick breakbeat punctuated by the hardest-hitting horns on the soundtrack. The National chimes in with “The System Only Sleeps In Total Darkness,” one of the more incisive singles from their newest album. alt-J is in there too, snaking their way through the atmospheric “Deadcrush.”
Just across the pond, Stormzy and Skepta make an appearance on top of an Avelino instrumental, spitting some grime that goes extremely hard. It’s a cut that belongs on the next adidas spot, at your next party, and in the middle of your toughest workout. Certified banger, right here.
Elsewhere, international pop icon Lorde (you’ve heard of her, yeah?) contributes a straightforward dance hit in the form of “Supercut.” It’s going to put its hooks into you with a pulsing bassline that just doesn’t quit and the kind of vocal hook that only Lorde can deliver, and it’s not going to let go.
Right after that, Mondo Cozmo comes through with the kind of expansive, layered alt-rock that sounds like every good thing U2 did in the '90s. All of the feel-good, none of the cheese.
Soaring alt-rock vibes can be found all over this collection in songs like “Miol Mor Mar” by the relatively unknown Outsider, as well as Portugal, The Man’s “Live in the Moment,” and the equally uplifting but decidedly shoegaze-y “Star Roving” by Slowdive. Tracks like these are the hallmark of just about every FIFA soundtrack, and when the folks at EA SPORTS choose wisely, these are the songs that take the most anticipated soundtrack in gaming to the next level.
This year, they nailed it.
Rounding out the highlights from this gargantuan mix are some of the harder to pin down songs, like indie-pop darling Perfume Genius’ “Slip Away,” which features one of the year’s absolute best vocal performances of 2017 and a quirky, bouncing guitar-driven verse that somehow sounds like it’s being played on a glass xylophone.
Swaggering their way through another half neo-psych, half dance-pop cut is Sofi Tukker, who are making their FIFA debut with “Best Friend.” There’s a lot going on with this one, but it might just be the most fun song on the whole list. It delivers hook, after hook, after hook, and a bass groove you’ll catch yourself moving your head to in the middle of a game.
I’ve done it twice today. I’m not even embarrassed anymore.
Check this thing out on Spotify if you want to add another layer of anticipation to FIFA 18 before you can cop it in stores.
FIFA 18 will officially launch on Sept. 29. Download the demo.
