Just last week, Disney Channel debuted its latest Original Movie, Zombies. The story follows a human cheerleader and a zombie football player as they strike up a friendship during their freshman year at high school. And yes, it’s a musical.
Zombies has a pop heavy soundtrack full of earworms that I can’t stop singing. In many ways it reminds me of High School Musical with a touch of Fox’s Glee. With the sports/cheerleader element and school spirit infused into the energetic “Fired Up,” it’s easy to visualize a school marching band taking over the football field. If you need a soundtrack to jam to, this is it.
“Someday” boasts sweet harmonies and surprisingly, better vocals than High School Musical. There’s some autotune and bit of dubstep/house music layered in the song, but it works. A ballad version is also on the album featuring a piano and string arrangement that’s quite pretty.
The album’s most charged song and zombie anthem is “Bamm.” Zombies know how to let loose when they party and it’s very clear they’re not rigid. With its constant, underlying beat, this is easily the heaviest song. Meanwhile, “Stand” starts out like an EDM remix of any song you know but turns out to be an empowerment anthem akin to Katy Perry’s “Roar” or Sara Bareilles’s “Brave.”
There are some soundtracks that clearly tell a cohesive story without needing the film to inform you of what’s going on. For example, I think of Tangled as a story you can follow just by listening to the songs. That’s not so much the case with Zombies. This isn’t to say that the soundtrack is bad, but it feels just the tiniest bit off. Overall, the production, quality, and singing on this album are great. It’s a fun soundtrack that I’ll continue to listen to.
You can purchase the Zombies Original TV Movie Soundtrack through Amazon.