Netflix digitally released the soundtrack album for their latest animated adventure, Stranger Things: Tales from ’85, without delay today, April 23, 2026. Furthermore, the 22-track album features a selection of the original score by composer Brad Breeck, along with a few songs.
Therefore, keep reading to learn more about the album and where you can find it.
Netflix Dropped the Stranger Things: Tales from ’85 Soundtrack Album
Netflix has finally released its much-anticipated sequel to Stranger Things. That’s right, starting today (April 23, 2026), you can binge-watch the entire first season of Stranger Things: Tales from ’85 any time you want, but they didn’t stop there. That’s because they also released its soundtrack.
To repeat, Netflix Music has already released the complete original soundtrack for the show. That should be great news for Stranger Things fans and soundtrack enthusiasts alike, especially since the album includes the show’s original score from composer Brad Breeck.
That’s because the Stranger Things soundtrack is renowned for its ’80s-style music. It’s the kind of undeniably moody, synthy, pulse-quickening listen that can make even a normal commute feel like a bike ride through the Town of Hawkins at dusk.
Thankfully, Breeck basically carried that aesthetic into the Tales from ’85 soundtrack. Consequently, that should make the album perfect for any playlist of Upside Down-adjacent textures or that “mid-’80s adventure with paranormal consequences”. However, there’s only one way to find out.
What The Tales From ’85 Soundtrack Album Includes
First things first: the Tales From ‘85 soundtrack album only features the original score. It’s not a compilation of the licensed songs heard throughout the episodes; you can find those on the artists’ original albums. Instead, it’s the musical themes, tension beds, chase cues, and end titles made to give the animated series its specific flavor of nostalgia and danger.
Furthermore, Netflix Music released the album only digitally (streaming and downloads) on major music platforms.
Meet the Composer: Brad Breeck
For longtime fans, the live-action Stranger Things soundtrack is inseparable from Kyle Dixon and Michael Stein’s now-legendary synth score. Tales from ’85, however, is its own beast thanks to composer Brad Breeck.
Breeck has a deep animation résumé, and that experience matters. That’s because animated storytelling often shifts gears fast, jumping from cozy kid-comedy to monster-movie in the span of a scene. The score has to pivot with it as a result.
On this album, you can definitely hear that approach in the way the tracks hint at story rhythms:
- Kid-crew momentum (“Kids Riding Bikes”)
- Ominous weather and dread (“Big Snowstorm Coming”)
- Straight-up escalation (“Sewer Chase,” “Storm the Gates”).
It’s still recognizably Stranger Things, though. You still got your synths, suspense, and that sense of discovery, but framed through animation’s slightly heightened, adventure-forward lens.
Why Stranger Things Fans (and Score Collectors) Should Care
I don’t have Netflix. So, I can’t watch either of the Stranger Things shows. However, the soundtrack is still worth it, especially if you collect Funko Pops (no judgment). That’s because it’s the first music tied specifically to the animated version of Hawkins.
Furthermore, it’s a wonderful standalone album, showing us what “Tales from ’85” sounds like when it isn’t using familiar radio hits. Musically, its short cues make it easy to dip in and out, making it perfect for playlists, writing sessions, or late-night gaming.
Meanwhile, the longer end-of-album tracks stretch out into mini journeys that feel closer to an episode’s emotional arc. And because the series is set in the stark winter of 1985, the music leans into cold textures with creeping tensions in a way that feels season-specific.
You can get all that from the titles alone. A few of them even look like instant conversation starters:
- “Investigating Pumpkins” (excuse me?)
- The ominously mirrored “Ground Rules” (“seluR dnuorG”)
- The hefty seven-minute pair “Her Royal Nastiness” and “We Have to Try.”
Those longer runtimes suggest big sequences — the kind you’ll want to revisit the moment the credits roll.
Collector’s Guide: Stranger Things: Tales from ’85 Soundtrack
Album Details
- Title: Stranger Things: Tales From ’85 (Soundtrack from the Netflix Series)
- Feature: An official score album (instrumental cues), not a licensed songs compilation.
- Composer: Brad Breeck
- Label: Netflix Music
- Release Date: April 23, 2026
- Format: Digital (Streaming & Download)
- Track Count: 22
- Genre and Tone: Cold, synthy, adventure-forward — perfect background listening.
- Highlights: The long-form tracks “Her Royal Nastiness” and “We Have to Try” look like the big set pieces.
Full Track List (With Runtimes)
- Flamethrower (feat. Brian Parkhurst) (1:46)
- Kids Riding Bikes (2:24)
- Big Snowstorm Coming (1:02)
- Someone in There (1:38)
- HIC Theme (0:49)
- I Just Saved Your Life (2:22)
- Strange Stones (1:24)
- Gotta Go Dark (2:31)
- How Long Is Detention (0:37)
- Sewer Chase (feat. Brian Parkhurst) (1:40)
- Towns (1:14)
- Clean Up (3:05)
- Investigating Pumpkins (1:11)
- Heaven Eleven (1:41)
- Nice Time Tonight (0:48)
- Storm the Gates (2:22)
- What Were These Things (1:23)
- Ground Rules (0:52)
- seluR dnuorG (0:36)
- Her Royal Nastiness (7:19)
- We Have to Try (7:29)
- Tales from ’85 End Titles (feat. Cooper Babbes) (1:17)
(The album has 22 tracks in total.)
How to Listen
Today, on April 23, 2026, Netflix Music made the Stranger Things: Tales from ’85 soundtrack available digitally on major music services, so your preferred platform should have it ready to go. However, here are a few of them to get you started:
Final Thoughts
Between its winter-in-Hawkins setting and a score built for fast, adventurous storytelling, Stranger Things: Tales from ’85 has a chance to carve out its own corner of the Stranger Things universe. Luckily, this soundtrack album is the cleanest way to experience it all in one sitting.
Therefore, give it a spin, pick your favorite tune, and then post it in the comments below. You should then let me know which track best fits this new era of Hawkins (with zero context), before reading my other soundtrack reviews.
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