Great Reviews for The Bureau Season 2 Soundtrack

A couple of great reviews for The Bureau season 2 soundtrack album from film score critics Randall D Larsson of Soundtrax and Jon Mansell of Movie music international. Many thanks to them both for their support!!

Check out their reviews in full here and here

Brett Aplin is an Australian composer who I must confess I have not really looked at before until recently thanks to Randall Larson, because he mentioned two of the composers scores in his soundtrack column recently, and if Randall likes his music that’s good enough for me. The two scores I focused upon were from the children’s TV series The Bureau of Magical Things, which I was hooked on straight away from the opening bars of music, both scores (seasons one and two) are available on digital platforms, but sadly no CD release as yet, the music has to it an instant appeal, with striking melodies and wistful and sweeping interludes that evoke the styles of Broughton, Goldsmith, Horner and Williams.

When I started to listen to the score’s I got a feeling that I had when I first heard soundtracks such as Hocus Pocus, or The Witches of Eastwick, the music being highly expressive and filled with mischievous undertones, well it is a series about kids with magical powers, so why not?

These are soundtracks that any film music fan would be proud to have in their collection, and whilst you are there checking out the mystical and sparkling music of The Bureau of Magical Things, why not also take a listen to the composers other scores as there is a wealth of great music there.

Jon Mansell

Season 2 of the Australian fantasy television series THE BUREAU OF MAGICAL THINGS continues the adventures of Kyra, a teenage girl who acquired magical powers when caught in a clash between an elf and a fairy. In this new series, when Kyra and Darra embark on a quest to find a legendary lost temple, Kyra’s orb magic accidentally awakens a dangerous object causing fairy and elf magic to malfunction. As the danger escalates, Kyra must risk everything to deal with a threat that endangers the entire magical world and brings her own identity into question.

“I had so much fun returning to the world of ‘The Bureau’ and expanding on musical themes I developed for the first season,” said composer Brett Aplin, who returns to score the second series. “I think this series is possibly even better than the first, and certainly musically speaking is even stronger with new themes for temples and keys, cobras and chases and more!”

Using both orchestral and popular musical treatments, Aplin carries over his main theme from the first season, honing it with a variety of elaborate and persuasive elements as the new episodes focus on further conflict between the magical and the human worlds. The score, like the show, is a teen-friendly one so the musical touches are light even when darker creatures try and impose their will on our young heroes. The music is a lot of fun, with a main theme that is rather delightfully festive and keeps the ongoing story both exciting and engaging. The soundtrack album is available from these links.

Randall Larson