Plants vs Zombies – “LoonBoon” (Laura Shigihara)

At the Game Audio Network Guild (GANG) Awards, Laura Shigihara won best original vocal piece for the main theme to Plants vs Zombies (2009), that quirky Tower Defense-style game where players build an army of plants to defend against the zombie invasion. The game has kept many an addict up to the wee hours of the AM. Ms. Shigihara’s music is absolutely delightful, lighthearted with comical references to the horror genre. I can certainly see how the music would get stuck in your head after a few hours of play! Ms. Shigihara did all the music and sound effects, as well as the lyrics and female singing for the game. All of the songs in the soundtrack are happy, delightful, and hummable, with a twist of creepy zombie to them. I have asked Ms. Shigihara about the possibility of releasing a soundtrack to the game, but a lot of this has to do with Popcap Games’ desire (or seeming lack thereof) to commodify the game’s music. We’ll see if a soundtrack gets released. You can read more about Ms. Shigihara’s work in an interview she had with Gametunes.

“LoonBoon” is a fan favorite that plays during the bonus stages. The track is primarily piano, but it has a hip combination of percussion and piano. The fast-paced, rapid movement of the keys and wide range of notes makes for a bit of a hectic pace – there is a lot going on during the bonus stage. Ms. Shigihara adds a vocal line for the creepy graveyard feel of the zombies, but later on (about 1:15 into the song), there is some wicked percussion that to me feels like a reference to Tim Follin’s Ghouls ‘n’ Ghosts on the C64. Of course, the graphic and audio feel is also somewhat reminiscent of Zombies Ate My Neighbors, another lighthearted zombie classic.

Ms. Shigihara has also uploaded to Youtube video of herself playing the theme in piano.