Netflix’s animated spin-off Stranger Things: Tales From ’85 arrived on April 23, 2026, transporting fans back to the fictional town of Hawkins, Indiana, during the winter of 1985.
The series — voiced by Brooklyn Davey Norstedt, Jolie Hoang-Rappaport, Luca Diaz, Braxton Quinney, Elisha Williams, Benjamin Plessala, Brett Gipson, Odessa A’zion, Jeremy Jordan, and Janeane Garofalo — picks up between the events of Stranger Things Seasons 2 and 3, where a terrifying new threat stirs beneath the surface of a deceptively quiet Hawkins.
But beyond the animation and the monsters, the music of Tales From ’85 stands as one of the series’ most distinctive creative choices — and it tells its own compelling story.
Stranger Things: Tales From ’85 Soundtrack Overview
| Detail | Info |
|---|---|
| Series Name | Stranger Things: Tales From ’85 |
| Showrunner | Eric Robles |
| Executive Producers | Matt Duffer, Ross Duffer, Shawn Levy, Dan Cohen, Hilary Leavitt |
| Animation Studio | Flying Bark Productions |
| Streaming Platform | Netflix |
| Series Premiere Date | April 23, 2026 |
| Composer | Brad Breeck |
| Soundtrack Label | Netflix Music |
| Soundtrack Release Date | April 23, 2026 |
| Total Score Tracks | 21 |
| Total Score Runtime | 45:20 |
| Format | Digital Album (Hi-Res) |
| UPC | 810123168781 |
The official score album for Stranger Things: Tales From ’85 — titled Stranger Things: Tales From ’85 (Soundtrack from the Netflix Series) — was released globally on April 23, 2026, under the Netflix Music label. It launched digitally in hi-res format on the same day the series debuted on the streaming platform.
The album was exclusively revealed by Billboard on April 22, 2026, ahead of its midnight ET release. Netflix described the collection as something that “bridges the gap between the eerie depths of the Upside Down and the vibrant, neon energy of the mid-’80s.” The score does not simply replicate the iconic synthesizer work of Kyle Dixon and Michael Stein from the original Stranger Things series — instead, it carves out its own sonic identity, one built for animation’s broader emotional palette. While the score does reference themes from the original series, composer Brad Breeck brings a fresh approach that balances nostalgia, suspense, wonder, and humor — the full emotional spectrum that animated storytelling demands.
In addition to the original score, the series features a rich selection of licensed needle drops from era-defining artists including Billy Idol, Black Sabbath, The Cure, Cyndi Lauper, and many more — reinforcing the show’s deep commitment to authentic 1985 atmosphere.
Who Composed the Stranger Things: Tales From ’85 Soundtrack?
Brad Breeck
The score for Stranger Things: Tales From ’85 was composed entirely by Brad Breeck — a Los Angeles-based composer and songwriter who has spent the better part of two decades becoming one of animation’s most trusted musical voices.
Bradley Joseph Breeck was born on August 9, 1978, in Illinois. He earned his MFA in Composition from the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts), where he also became a member of the Los Angeles-based experimental punk band The Mae Shi. In 2007, he departed the band to focus exclusively on composing for television and film.
His animation career breakthrough came when he pitched the theme song for Disney Channel’s Gravity Falls (2012–2016), which earned him an ASCAP Screen Music Award and widespread critical acclaim. Breeck served as the sole composer across all 40 episodes of that series. He went on to score four seasons (139 episodes) and the feature film of We Bare Bears for Cartoon Network, and took on The Owl House for Disney TV (Seasons 2–3, 2021–2023).
His Netflix credits include Glitch Techs and Voltron: Legendary Defender (all 76 episodes for DreamWorks/Netflix). He also composed for Kiff (Disney), Star vs. the Forces of Evil (Disney), Fanboy & Chum Chum (Nickelodeon), The Smurfs (Nickelodeon), Awkward (MTV), and Randy Cunningham: 9th Grade Ninja (Disney).
In 2017, Breeck won a Golden Reel Award from the Motion Picture Sound Editors for Best Sound Editing – Sound Effects, Foley, Dialogue and ADR in Television Animation for the Nickelodeon TV film Albert.
For Tales From ’85, Breeck deliberately chose not to copy the signature synthesizer palette of the original Stranger Things score. According to coverage from Film Music Reporter and PopGeeks, the approach was to expand the franchise’s musical identity rather than simply continue it — a score tailored to animation’s faster pacing, heightened emotion, and broader visual imagination. The Wikipedia entry for the series confirms the score “references the original series’s theme composed by Kyle Dixon and Michael Stein,” but the creative DNA is distinctly Breeck’s own.
Stranger Things: Tales From ’85 Official Score Tracklist
The following tracklist was officially revealed by Billboard on April 22, 2026, ahead of the soundtrack’s global release. Total runtime is 45 minutes and 20 seconds.
- Flamethrower (feat. Brian Parkhurst)
- Kids Riding Bikes
- Big Snowstorm Coming
- Someone In There
- HIC Theme
- I Just Saved Your Life
- Strange Stones
- Gotta Go Dark
- How Long Is Detention
- Sewer Chase (feat. Brian Parkhurst)
- Towns Clean Up
- Investigating Pumpkins
- Heaven
- Eleven
- Nice Time Tonight
- Storm the Gates
- What Were These Things
- Ground Rules
- seluR dnuorG
- Her Royal Nastiness
- We Have To Try
- Tales from ’85 End Titles (feat. Cooper Babbes)
Source: Billboard (April 22, 2026) / FMDB
Score Highlights
“Flamethrower” (feat. Brian Parkhurst) — The album’s opening statement, co-featuring guitarist/musician Brian Parkhurst. The title alone signals that Breeck is not playing it safe; this is an aggressive, kinetic piece that establishes the show’s elevated threat level early.
“Kids Riding Bikes” — A nod to the franchise’s core identity. This track evokes the warm camaraderie of the Hawkins kids and carries the Saturday-morning cartoon spirit the Duffer Brothers specifically wanted the series to evoke.
“HIC Theme” — A dedicated motif for the series’ Hawkins storyline, this track functions as a thematic anchor across episodes, building a sense of place and continuity.
“Sewer Chase” (feat. Brian Parkhurst) — A second collaboration with Parkhurst, the title points to one of the series’ action set-pieces. Action cues in Breeck’s work tend to combine rhythmic propulsion with melodic clarity, and this one is built for the animation format’s faster visual cuts.
“Eleven” — A character-specific cue that draws directly on the emotional weight the audience has built with one of the franchise’s central figures across five seasons of live-action television. Breeck’s ability to handle emotional beats has been demonstrated across projects like The Owl House and Gravity Falls, and this track reflects that strength.
“Storm the Gates” — Likely corresponding to a climactic episode set-piece, this is one of the score’s larger orchestral-electronic moments, blending the franchise’s synth DNA with Breeck’s own compositional voice.
“seluR dnuorG” — Notably, the title is “Ground Rules” spelled backwards — a deliberate piece of Upside Down-inspired wordplay that reflects the show’s horror atmosphere and the franchise’s tradition of hidden, reversed messaging.
“Tales from ’85 End Titles” (feat. Cooper Babbes) — The closing piece of the album, featuring vocalist/musician Cooper Babbes. End title cues in animation often serve as emotional recaps of a season’s arc, and this track closes the album with that intention.
Stranger Things: Tales From ’85 Licensed Songs / Needle Drops
In addition to Breeck’s original score, Tales From ’85 features an extensive selection of licensed songs across its ten episodes. The following list was verified by NME (published April 26, 2026) and corresponds to officially confirmed placements.
Episode 1
- Kim Wilde — “Kids In America”
- The Go-Go’s — “We Got The Beat”
- Killing Joke — “Eighties”
- Suicidal Tendencies — “Possessed”
- A Flock Of Seagulls — “I Ran (So Far Away)”
Episode 2
- The Jim Carroll Band — “People Who Died”
- Animatiqs — “This Time”
- Black Sabbath — “Children Of The Grave”
- The Cure — “A Forest”
Episode 3
- Naked Eyes — “Always Something There To Remind Me”
Episode 4
- The Replacements — “Left Of The Dial”
- Billy Idol — “Rebel Yell”
Episode 6
- The Jetzons — “You”
Episode 7
- X-Ray Spex — “Art-I-Ficial”
- Little Murders — “Beat Goes On”
Episode 8
- Peacock Party — “Whatever Happened To Baby Jane”
- Devo — “Girl U Want”
Episode 9
- Thompson Twins — “Hold Me Now”
- Bigger Story Music — “Only Time Will Tell”
Episode 10
- Cyndi Lauper — “Time After Time”
- The Fixx — “One Thing Leads To Another”
- Vera Lynn — “We’ll Meet Again”
Source: NME (April 26, 2026)
Brad Breeck Composer Filmography (Selected)
| Year | Project | Network/Platform | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012–2016 | Gravity Falls | Disney Channel | Sole composer; wrote theme song; ASCAP Award winner |
| 2012–2015 | Randy Cunningham: 9th Grade Ninja | Disney XD | Composer; wrote theme |
| 2012–2014 | Robot and Monster | Nickelodeon | Wrote theme song |
| 2011–2016 | Awkward | MTV | Series composer; ASCAP Award |
| 2015–2018 | Pickle and Peanut | Disney XD | Composer (42 episodes) |
| 2015–2019 | Star vs. the Forces of Evil | Disney Channel | Wrote theme song |
| 2014–2019 | We Bare Bears | Cartoon Network | Full score, 4 seasons + film |
| 2016–2018 | Voltron: Legendary Defender | Netflix/DreamWorks | Full score, 76 episodes |
| 2020 | We Bare Bears: The Movie | Cartoon Network | Film composer |
| 2020 | Glitch Techs | Nickelodeon/Netflix | Composer (19 episodes) |
| 2021–2023 | The Owl House (Seasons 2–3) | Disney Channel | Series composer |
| 2021–present | The Smurfs | Nickelodeon | Composer |
| 2023–present | Kiff | Disney Channel | Composer |
| 2026 | Stranger Things: Tales From ’85 | Netflix | Sole composer, original score |
Sources: IMDb, Wikipedia, Brad Breeck official website, Film Music Reporter
Where to Listen to the Stranger Things: Tales From ’85 Soundtrack?
The Stranger Things: Tales From ’85 (Soundtrack from the Netflix Series) by Brad Breeck is available globally on all major streaming platforms, including Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon Music, as released on April 23, 2026, under the Netflix Music label.
Netflix has also confirmed that a dedicated Spotify playlist — created by Matt and Ross Duffer — compiles all the era-defining licensed songs featured in the series for fans who want the full ’80s needle-drop experience in one place.
FAQs
Who composed the Stranger Things: Tales From ’85 soundtrack?
The original score was composed by Brad Breeck, best known for his work on Disney’s Gravity Falls, The Owl House, and Cartoon Network’s We Bare Bears. He is the sole composer for the series.
When was the Stranger Things: Tales From ’85 soundtrack released?
The official score album was released globally on April 23, 2026 — the same day the series premiered on Netflix — under the Netflix Music label.
How many tracks are on the Stranger Things: Tales From ’85 score album?
The official score album contains 22 tracks with a total runtime of 45 minutes and 20 seconds.
Did Kyle Dixon and Michael Stein return to score Tales From ’85?
No. Kyle Dixon and Michael Stein, who composed the iconic synth score for the original Stranger Things live-action series, did not return for Tales From ’85. Netflix brought in Brad Breeck instead. The series score does reference the original themes, but Breeck crafted an independent musical identity for the animated spin-off.
What are the most notable songs in the series?
Some of the standout licensed tracks include Kim Wilde’s “Kids In America”, Billy Idol’s “Rebel Yell”, The Cure’s “A Forest”, Black Sabbath’s “Children Of The Grave”, Cyndi Lauper’s “Time After Time”, and Devo’s “Girl U Want”, among many others confirmed across all ten episodes.
Where can I stream the Stranger Things: Tales From ’85 soundtrack?
The score album is available on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, and all major digital streaming platforms globally. A dedicated playlist featuring the series’ licensed songs is also available on Spotify.
How many episodes does Stranger Things: Tales From ’85 Season 1 have?
Season 1 consists of 10 episodes, all of which are currently streaming on Netflix.