This is a great uptempo new wave/dreampop track which provides a modern twist on a sound harkening back to the mid-1980s. This track appears to have been around in demo form since at least 2011, and we’re very glad that they included it on their new album which came out last month. The chiming guitars evoke both the nighttime fun and the bygone ’80s, while Rände Rännäli’s sparkling vocals fit the mood perfectly.
This New York band’s post-punk / new wave song is a great contrast in light and dark, and should appeal to a wide spectrum of music fans. Starting with a jangly, memorable, and very chipper reverb’d guitar riff, the mood turns darker when the deep, slightly melancholic vocals begin, with a chorus that sounds like…
Well, now this is a surprise! Beach House, known for it’s dreamy, languid tunes apparently picked up some feedback pedals at the flea market. Their new single, Sparks, opens with some MBV-esque distortion before a squelch of guitar that wouldn’t be out of place on Smashing Pumpkins’ debut LP, Gish. When the dust settles, and…
Yesterday, 80’s icons a-Ha released the first single called ‘Under The Make-up’ off of their forthcoming album ‘Cast In Steel’. A tour is expected to accompany the new album. Singer Morten Harket’s voice is as good as ever on this melancholy track that reminds us a little of ‘Lifelines’. The synths and orchestration on this track are movie soundtrack beautiful and leave us anticipating what the rest of the album might sound like.
The track Cranekiss owes an obvious nod to Cocteau Twins but the driving beat also reminds me of Dream About Me for the now defunct Pains of Being Pure at Heart side project, The Depreciation Guild.
This is a nice retro trip, and although that is maybe becoming a cliche notion, this is NOT a look back at 80’s Synth. We are talking about the hazy, dreamy world New Wave/Goth vibe of Cocteau Twins, Bel Canto and The Cure. There are also more ethereal vocal vibes reminiscent of Julee Cruise, Tamaryn…
One of my favorite albums of the mid 90s was Jamboreebop by State Of Grace featuring the songs Hello, And Love Will Fall and Smile. This was a band that I truly missed, until today. I was listening to some playlists on Spotify and heard this beautiful voice that immediate caught my attention…and it sounded oh so familiar. The band was Fatal Charm, a band that I had never heard of. I continued to listen to a few songs and after a while the sounds started to sound familiar. They were State Of Grace songs! I did some quick googling and was surprised to find out that Fatal Charm was the early incarnation of State Of Grace.
Apparently, this is the summer of infectious female-led synthpop jams. You know what? I’m quite ok with this. Meanwhile, the video is all sorts of Retro invoking the look of Deee-Lite and Austin Powers at the same time.
Strong Hearts is just the latest in a string of infectious synthpop jams from the Orlando duo, Priest. From the debut self-titled LP, the track will have you singing along in no time and it’s not going to leave your head any time soon.
I flat out LOVE this new track from Class Actress! Elizabeth Harper has done a rather impressive job of re-inventing herself; from her earlier folkier acoustic based solo days when she was billed as a ‘Female Morrissey’, to her rebirth as a synthpop star with Class Actress tracks like Journal Of Ardency, Weekend and Keep…
Plantlife, the new single from Cold Showers is a very pleasant surprise to stumble upon. The LA Post-Punk band wowed us with their debut LP “Love and Regret”, but they’ve been pretty quiet of late. On the surprise new single, a driving synth beat is added to the mix of pounding drums and shimmering Post Punk…
From the moment you hear the syncopated beats you are thinking some kind of 80’s dance jam ala Blue Monday or Bizarre Love Triangle is on the way. Not exactly, as the song settles in to a more chilled groove with slightly disaffected vocals – but that is kind of the charm of The Radio Dept. As the song continues, the bouncy synths invoke Royksopp and Technique-era New Order.