Zombie Songs: Laura Shigihara

You may not recognize Laura Shigihara's name, but you have probably heard of the game she composed the score for: Plants vs. Zombies. It's a super fun tower defense game that's also super cute. You plant different types plants in your yard to battle against the zombies, preventing them from going into your house and eating your brains. If you haven't played it yet, you need to. It's available for the Android, iPhone/iPod, X-Box 360, PC, Mac, Nintendo DS, and even in the game World of Warcraft (except it's called Peaceblooms vs. Ghouls). It has exploded so much since I first started playing it 2 years ago that it's shocking. This game is incredibly addicting, so be prepared to be completely absorbed by the game.

I have spent many hours playing this game and thoroughly enjoying the musical score. The tracks range from peaceful and slow (Zen Garden) to frenzied and energetic (Brainiac Maniac). The atmosphere for this game is perfectly realized in the musical score: quirky, cute, addicting, and, above all, fun. The J-pop influenced theme song, Zombies on Your Lawn, is clever, catchy, and adorable and it always brings a smile to face. Apparently the game soundtrack has been available for download for almost a year, which I did not know. (The theme song in English and Japanese has been available for free since the game released.) Now the rest of the soundtrack is available on Laura's Bandcamp for only $3.99 or you can just enjoy the soundtrack streaming on the website or right here.

I randomly found Laura's Youtube account, where she plays some of her Plants vs. Zombies compositions on the piano, as well as covers of other video game songs, like Still Alive from Portal, and original songs. Here are my 2 favorite PvZ videos:

Laura Shigihara is a talented pianist and composer and I can't wait to see more from her in her upcoming game, Melolune.