Browsing Tag

Synth Pop

Jake Speikers captured a daydream of longing with his 80s-swathed new wave single, Nostalgic.

Posted on 17 November 2023

With music fans clinging to nostalgia like there’s no tomorrow, the Minnesota singer-songwriter Jake Speikers has shown them the future of 80s-integrated pop with his choral dream of a new wave single, Nostalgic.

With Phil Collin-esque drum fills punctuating the dreamy atmosphere of the release which finds the middle ground between The Midnight and Cigarettes After Sex, the nostalgic pop wheel wasn’t reinvented, but it was creatively reimagined in this impassioned earworm that captures a daydream of longing in panoramic picture that you’ll want to expose yourself to time after time.

If you can’t get enough of the DIY pop artist’s achingly sweet sonic signature, you won’t have long to wait for the release of his debut, which traverses his experiences of coming out, heartache and coming of age. We’re already invested.

Nostalgic will hit the airwaves on November 17; stream it on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Drift into a higher dimension with the latest interstellar single from Rae Larz, ORACLE

Posted on 15 November 2023

Back in February, Rae Larz invited us to a tea party with a cosmic difference via her single, Tea in the Stratosphere, going by her latest release, ORACLE, she’s still reigning interstellar supreme.

After a sequence of moody stabbing synth lines, the Brooklyn-based artist’s demurely magnetic vocal lines start drawing you into the gravity of the release by transitioning between the high vocal harmonies and sermonic spoken word utterances which command with sublime conviction.

ORACLE may be more niche than your average synth pop release, but the singer, songwriter, and producer never compromises with her deep emotional expression and visualises soundscapes that are infinitely more enriching for the heart, body, soul and rhythmic pulses. Freedom emanates through every progression within ORACLE; unshackle yourselves, especially if you’re a fan of Black Honey, She Draws the Gun and Warpaint.

If you can’t get enough of Rae Larz after hearing ORACLE, you won’t have long to wait before her vibration-raising EP hits the airwaves.

ORACLE dropped on November 3rd; stream it on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Synthpop’s silver-tongued evocateur, Cavono, exhibited his cultivated authenticity in his soul-draped single, Smooth Talking

Posted on 13 November 2023

The silver-tongued soul crooner Cavono has revolutionised the synthpop landscape with his deep, bass-y and baritone vocal lines in his latest single, Smooth Taking, which does exactly what it says on the tin.

By transcending the synthpop trend and staying unapologetically true to his urbane expression style, he delivered yet another elegant and cultivated track that will swallow you whole as you experience the smooth nostalgia-tinged melodies against the ardent backbeat, which exemplifies the singer-songwriter’s impassioned air that you’ll want to share time after time.

Before releasing his official debut single, ZELUS, in 2022, the Illinois-born, Fort Worth, Texas-based artist struggled to find a genre he resonated with, compelling him to craft his own delectably debonair sonic signature. By taking fragments from his favourite artists, including Dean Martin and DNCE, and carving out his own melodic niche, he became one of the most promising artists in 2023.

Smooth Talking is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Embrace our transhumanist future with Skylnz Ablze’s electrifying synth wave single, Memory Empty

Posted on 30 October 2023

Even though synth wave is all the rage in 2023, the Chicago-hailing songwriter, producer, and engineer Skylnz Ablze, rode his synth lines into a cut above the rest with the seminally animatronic single, Memory Empty, from his sophomore LP, Born from Electricity, which was crafted to exhibit a new perspective on pop.

By taking influence from electronica pioneers The Human League, New Order and Gary Numan and synthesising the new wave pop aesthetic into one that fizzes with oscillating ingenuity, Skylnz Ablze allowed the transhumanist future that awaits us all to embrace the listener from the very first ensnaring 808 kick to the last.

Memory Empty hit the airwaves on October 13th; stream it on Spotify as part of Skylnz Ablze’s sophomore LP, Born from Electricity.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Get into the euphoric electro-pop groove with Zach Schuh’s synthy and celestial single, Blurry Pictures

Posted on 26 October 2023

Capturing the sweetness of a perfect moment you never want to leave behind, the latest single, Blurry Pictures, from the ever-ascending independent artist Zach Schuh is, somewhat ironically, the perfect polaroid of euphoric gratitude.

The bedroom pop artist who never leaves any clues within his soundscapes to his DIY approach has discernibly mastered the art of song crafting, arranging, producing, mixing, mastering, and visualising emotional experiences to make them universal.

The Cali native’s vibrant style has all the trappings of an infectious electro-pop earworm; the 80s synths lend themselves effortlessly well to the funk-carved grooves that are cut as deep as the most body-rocking hits from Daft Punk, as for his vocal lines, they couldn’t be dreamier. You might want to pinch yourself to make sure you’re awake while you’re being consumed by the ethereal soul of them.

Blurry Pictures was officially released on September 1st; you can get into the kaleidoscopic groove with it by heading over to Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

ELSKA delivered synthwave redemption in her latest single, Flashback

Posted on 14 October 2023

With an 80s edge as sharp as the one carved by The Human League paired with the same spiritual zeal of Stevie Nicks, the latest single from the ever-ascending Australian pop icon, ELSKA carries enough of the nostalgic new wave feel-good factor to leave you exhilarated by the swells of retro aesthetics, but Flashback is so much more to an ode to seemingly everyone’s new favourite era.

The juxtaposing lyrics reminisce on crying on the bathroom floor – yea, we’ve all been there – while the shimmering aesthetic of the track affectingly attests to how we all have to write our own redemption story, which also goes for survivors of sexual abuse and assault. If the sticky-sweet hooks in the stellar four-to-the-floor bop don’t convince you that dark days don’t set a blueprint for your future, just wait until the harmonies start to layer into a synthesised choir.

Prior to the release of Flashback, ELSKA performed at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, collaborated with the world-renowned Brad Hosking on a track, and became a semi-finalist in the International Songwriting Competition. She has come a seriously long way since she made her debut in 2018. We can’t wait to see her make more Olympian strides.

Flashback was officially released on October 6; stream it on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

MØNA ripped up fabled tropes in her seminal art-pop hit, fairy tale

Posted on 15 September 2023

MØNA opened a portal to a fantastical realm with the otherworldly synth textures in her latest art-pop hit, fairy tale. Around the domineering oscillations of the basslines, theatrical motifs add a histrionically haunted air to the up-tempo release that challenges stereotypical tropes while narrating a complete story, with the singer-songwriter playing the villain protagonist.

After fairy tales become such a principal fixture of childhood and leave us with lofty ideals of how adulthood will unfold, it is hardly a surprise so many of us naively come of age, realise that sometimes the wolf will get us, and discover that white knights are often as nefarious as what they claim they will save us from. Encompassing all this and more, MØNA’s latest single rips up the fabled tropes in artfully beguiling style. We can’t wait to hear what the icon of Avant-Garde pulls out of the bag next.

fairy tale was officially released on August 18; stream it on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Zach Haselow brought purity to passion in his synth-pop hit, Rent Free

Posted on 1 September 2023

Get hooked on the reverb-heavy retrowave synth lines in the latest electro-pop hit, Rent Free, from the Alaskan icon in the making, Zach Haselow.

With a soundscape that finds the middle ground between the Weeknd and the Midnight, it is all too easy to get into the lush electronic grooves of Rent Free, which soulfully pays homage to the phenomenon of all-consuming romantic obsession while traversing the insecurities that desire can forcibly manifest.

The humbly sweet hit couldn’t be purer in its passion or more polished in its production; the melodies seem to effervesce around the funk-dripping basslines that will arrest your rhythmic pulses and refuse to let go until long after the fadeout. After spending over a decade perfecting the art of songwriting and producing, Zach Haselow has achieved a sonic signature that is as honed as it is distinctive.

Rent Free made its debut on August 18th; stream it on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Alen Chicco’s RnB Pop hit is anything but just ‘Another Love Song’

Posted on 27 August 2023

If you know exactly how it feels to be caught out as one of love’s fools, the resonance you’ll revel in when the soulfully hair-raising chorus in Alen Chicco’s latest RnB pop single, Another Love Song hits will cut straight to the core.

The definitively 80s synth lines leave the hit awash with lush reverb as Chicco’s dynamic vocal timbre evolves around the tension-fraught build-ups and classic pop crescendos constructed by the funk-laden basslines and atmospheric drum fills.

With some of the juiciest vocal hooks we’ve heard this year, which prove the singer-songwriter’s capacity to incorporate all of the hallmarks of a perennial pop earworm while never compromising on the viscerally raw emotion, the industry should be eating out of the palm of his deft hands and pop fanatic sycophants should be breaking down his door.

Check out the official music video for Another Love Song by heading over to YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

FanFixion took synth wave into dark unchartered waters with ‘Jackets Domain’

Posted on 19 August 2023

The US-based artist and producer FanFixion surpassed the synth wave trend with his 3-track project, Bleach Bitten, featuring the ensnaringly glitchy standout single, Jackets Domain.

As the emotions run high, the synth lines soak the darkwave score with atmospheric electricity which bridges the gap between new wave synthpop artists such as The Midnight and EBM icons including VNV Nation and Covenant.

With the inventive use of distortion to the hooky vocal melodies to amplify the intrinsic sense of disquietness and rock nuances bleeding into the hit that will leave your heart in your throat as soon as the chorus hits, it is safe to say that FanFixion has been triumphant in his mission to push synth wave into dark unchartered waters.

FanFixion released his 3-track single, Bleach Bitten, on August 11th; stream it in full via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast