Overview

Need for Speed: Nitro was a 2009 Wii and DS release for the racing franchise, shortly after Need for Speed: Shift. Since the game doesn't feature any original music, the soundtrack release comprises of licensed music from mostly underground artists. A selection from the soundtrack was temporarily released on iTunes. The result is an album which I'm not so fond of, and is probably one of the weakest in the series too...

Body

Although Need for Speed Nitro Official Soundtrack features a diverse set of musical styles (indie rock, hard rock, hip-hop, dance, and electronica) I feel as if the wrong tracks have been chosen to represent this. Take the first track as an example. "Not Thinking Straight" is just another generic indie track that has nothing special about it. Sure, the melody is catchy, and it has a decent riff, but really it's boring.

Even Danko Jones' "Code of the Road" is a bit off the mark, with its repetitiveness getting a little droll. Even looking past the rock contributions to the soundtrack, we can see some bad tracks. "Jewels and Gems" from Two Fingers, "Make it Rock" from Drumajik, and "Buff Nuff" are all weak and grating hip-hop tracks.

The best tracks on the album actually belong to the electronica genre, and comprise of three fairly listenable tracks. One instance, Crystal Method's "Sine Language," is a pretty unique track with a nice vibe about it and intriguing synth sounds. "All the Cash" from Evil 9 is a gripping song too, with an enjoyable ambient background harmony running alongside the repetitive overlying vocals. Alex Metric's pumping "What Now" is the best instance of electronica on the album though with its great development, especially around 1:49 where the track takes upon a completely new direction.

Summary

Overall, this is a disappointing album, and quite rightly it only received a short-lived iTunes release. Though the music works fairly well within the game, the tracks lack any pull factor or drive in isolation. Licensed music releases have been fairly successful within the series previously, so it's sad to see this one scar this record. Really, it's only the electronica tracks which bolster this album, and ideally in the future, the Need For Speed series will focus on more pumping, gripping, and intriguing tunes.