Synthwave 2021

I present to you another list of synthwave albums. This time, they are albums that have been released in the year 2021. I tried making it a mixture of popular and relatively unknown artists. My problem is that I don't always keep track of what's popular in the synthwave scene. So I don't even know if a particular artist is uknown or popular. So, this list is not going to be all-encompassing. I guarantee that there's some that I overlooked or forgot about. You know what? This is just my list. Enjoy it or go to hell.

The List

ALEX - Mechsuit Junkie

Alex experiments like he usually does and this time it is with a more 90's video and arcade game style. The experiment is a resounding success. I love the Time Crisis, Gundam, Cowboy Bebop, and Dragonball-Z samples. I actually hate Dragonball-Z but the "It's over 9000!" sample was awesome. Time Crisis is one of my favorite arcade games. It's cool to see that game receive some love. Anyways, Mechsuit Junkie is full of action-packed rythms and fast-paced melodies that send sparks and gun smoke flying in every direction. Doesn't matter if the action this action packed music takes place in space, or on Earth, it's really quite energetic. The most interesting characteristic is that, despite it's rather high tempos and frenetic style of melody, there's still a certain feeling of almost dreamy like calm with more simple and melodies consisting of long sustained notes beneath it all.

Timecop 1983 - Faded Touch

Coninues the same dreamy, silky smooth synth melodies from Night Drive. I must say, there's seems to be an refinement in the overall feel and sound this time around. It's a refinement of the pleasant dreams and memories you experienced in the past so that you may experience them again in an improved form. Now, please carry us away to that dream world.

Mega Drive - Neuroframe

Yet another spectacular slab of gritty darksynth from the master. Doesn't take as big of a departure as Sequencer did. What it does is capitalize on everything that made previous Mega Drive albums terrific. One can actually compare songwriting, melodies, and track listings to such albums as 198x and 199x. One might critize this album as being a somewhat of a retread, but I think it's better to call it a refinement. The production is better, the hooks are deeper, and the layering of melodies is even more complex this time around. It's a refinement of everything that makes Mega Drive so great, and that's why Neuroframe is so great.

Wolf and Raven - Gemini

The fact that this was released a mere day after Mega Drive's Neuroframe made Cinco de Mayo feel more like Christmas. The guitar has definitely taken a much more prominent role as it did in Lair of the Dragon. I'm a guitar player myself, so I can always appreciate a great riff. Wolf and Raven delivers those in spades. It's a welcomed tranformation, but I would also love to see the keyboard synths play an equally prominent role. An album full of duelling keyboard and guitar solos would be insane.

Fury Weekend - Signals

Fury Weekend is about as rad a synthwave artist could get. Signals continues to incorporate more rock and pop influences while also retaining a slightly dark, melancholic sound on many of these tracks. Fury Weekend seems to be embracing some more dystopian themes as of late. All of Fury Weekend's material is good, but it's more fierce this time around. For this reason, Signals is now my favorite Fury Weekend.

Fixions - Singularity

Fixions is absolutely phenomenal. Singularity may very well be Fixion's best album, yet. It manages to strike the perfect balance between the glitched out melodic tracks on Genocity and the ragged textures on Dark Days . The songrwriting deserves special mention. It makes bold twists and turns that will keep the listener guessing and screaming while on a flaming roller coaster. Always thrilling and always electrifying. Fixions rules!

Ultrakiller - Death Trap

Newly discovered artist. This is absolutely phenomenal stuff. Ultrakiller blends the heaviness of metal and melodicism of synthwave in such a way that it appears effortless. It's high energy rythms and shattering melodies all the time and the action almost never stops. It must be said, however, that there's some downtempo tracks to create ebb and flow so that it doesn't become tired or overbearing. The story about a possessed killer is pretty cool.

Perturbator - Lustful Sacraments

This is not a synthwave album. It's worth including it on this list simply because Perturbator was such an enourmous force in the early days of the genre. I think it's best to regard this album as a safe expirement in a genre not previously explored by the artist. You can detect that he's still getting accustomed to his new style. That being said, our darksynth pioneer does an adequate job in his new musical domain. But the real gem is the closing track, God Says. The singer of Hangman's Chair delivers a stirring performance by pouring out his emotions so captivatingly well that it makes you weep right along with him. God says he's away...

Orax - Love Kills The Demon

This may be Orax's best album to date. I'm a huge fan of Cometa. Mostly because it was my first introduction to synthwave. But that album does have some seriously powerful tracks that make it worth revisiting after all these years. Love Kills the Demon seems to combine and synthesize every one of Orax's previous albums into one elegant work of art. The songs porbably possess the most variety in Orax's catalogue. As a result, it makes for an engaging and enjoyable listen from start to finish.

Deadlife - God in the Machine

Much like Orax this year, Deadlife consolidates everything that made his previous work into one wholesome package. There are more vocal tracks this time around and each one is stellar. He truly managed to work his hard edged cyberpunk synth underneath moving singing. What it Means to Ache I thought was particularly stirring. I'm still not a fan of those warbling breakdowns, but I still very much enjoyed listening to this.

Necromancer - Soulless/Abyss

Another newly discovered artist. The music is simply stunning. If you ever want perfect Halloween music, you found it. There's a plethora of minor key melodies that intertwine with one another and send you on a mystical journey to a forbidden realm. The horrors here aren't just maniac with a knife type of horrors; they are horrors from another dimension. Wretched abominations are being summoned from this realm to drain people of their blood and soul. You might even say this is Lovecraftian in nature. Highly, highly recommended.

Waveshaper - Mainframe

The past few releases saw Waveshaper create a more laid back and relax version of his spacewave. The music was more patient and deliberate, but it was also less immediate. Mainframe finds our space hero exploring the regions between chill and groove. The exploration revealed some truly remarkable discoveries. I would say this is Waveshaper's best since Station Nova. Of course, every Waveshaper album is something special. Mainframe is another worthy addition.

Manhatten - Can We Talk...

The music in this album is depicted quite well by its cover art. Staying in a vacation home on the beach by the ocean. Just chilling and relaxing. There's still love and heartbreak themes throughout. It's as if we took a vacation to temporarily escape the wounds of the heart, but we know we will kiss and make-up eventually.

The Future Kids - Lost Summer

This is the debut album from Future Kid, and my is it wonderful. This album really does function as a soundtrack to those summers where you got lost with your buddies or your high school sweet heart. The air of nostalgia and wistful reminiscence is so thick that it almost makes you shed a tear. Beautiful music.

Wolftron - Love is Deathless

This is almost like an industrial metal album. It's mechanical, heavy, and dark as hell. The synthesizer tones used really do sound like down-tuned, distorted guitars. The neat feature of this album is the occasional eerie melody and noise amidst the pounding, yet dance-able, rythms. Of course, you don't have to dance to it. You could just headbang instead.

Dav Dralleon - Fall Ov Men

Another that is influenced by industrial metal. This seems to lean more on jagged electronic textures and frequent tempo and rythm changes. This makes for a chaotic yet engaging listen. But you can't really dance to this. So you'll have to headbang to this even harder.

Last Concorde - Dream Machine

The homage to Timecop1983 is obvious. But don't let that stop you from enjoying this record. Lately, Timecop1983 has been into some heartbreak themes. Last Concorde is just good old fashion nostalgia and cruising by the beach on a warm evening watching the sunset. Much more relaxing, if you ask me. There's also an undeniable sense of groove on some these tracks. I actually like the optimistic feel here.

Epiloque

I have mentioned at least once on this blog that synthwave seems to be going into a third generation. In this generation, we are seeing a blend of genres. In the darker, more hard edged synth, we are seeing synthwave mixed with metal (Ultrakiller), EDM (ALEX) and industrial (Dav Dralleon). The more sunny side of synthwave is being mixed with pop (Timecop1983), rock(Wolf and Raven) and even some funk and R&B. Some are leaving the synthwave genre altogether (Perturbator). I feel that this is an exciting new development with endless possiblities. The releases I listed here invigorate that feeling.

This was a lot of synthwave albums. I didn't cover some other releases that would've been fun to write about; Glitch Black, Dynatron, and Shredder 1984, to name a few. I think ought to space things out in the future. Maybe just write a review on one album at a time instead of trying to round everything up at the end of the year. All the albums on this list are fun, but top the picks are Love Kills the Demon, Singularity, Abyss, and Neuroframe