Electro pop’s first flirtations with compositional intellect reemerge in the imaginative presence of Spin Me Again, the new single from Midnight Prisms. In contempt of commercial fluff, Spin Me Again reclaims the sparkle known to bubble gum and returns it to the underground.
In that way it resonates with Madonna’s debut. Full of underrated arrangements and inspiring chord progressions, songs like Borderline get reduced to A radio purgatory when in fact they’re clever compositions. Spin Me Again embraces that impossibility, don’t take it for granted.
Midnight Prisms are featured on our Best New Synthwave Playlist.
Cisco Bluff grabs you from the first seductive moments of their new single Second Sight. The addictive pump of the electro bass stabs immediately transport you from the throes of reality into your imaginative dream state, as Cisco Bluff amplifies the interpretive connection his sound has with rare 80s new wave classics. The musicianship collectively raises the bar within a pop inspired scope, citing the brilliance of Tubeway Army or Hall and Oates.
The singer adds to the stylistic vision, poetically embracing an electro post punk influence while marrying an influence of 80s alternative bands like The Smiths. On Second Sight everything is truly in its right place. A solid release for indie pop and retro wave fans alike, dig in.
Second Sight is featured on our Best New Synthwave Playlist.
We fell for the infectious poetic nostalgia of I Still Feel Alone All The Time. The band is called Holy Wire and we think they’re brilliant. There’s a genuine authenticity to this nostalgia, one that doesn’t feel so absolute, but rather more of the same fabric of how the music that it recalls makes you feel. The vibe immediately connects with the expansive classic works known to New Order and The Cure in the same way that indie underground favorite National of Language cite that influence.
Whether Holy Wire’s new single was released in 1980, now, or in twenty years, it’s still going to incite that same essence. It’s a timeless token meant for a subset of the abandoned and lonely. For most of us who don’t deny our human nature its the first lesson in evolution, when our Mother walks away to tend to herself over our own helplessness. Holy Wire lands iconic.
Holy Wire are featured on our Best New Synthwave New Wave Playlist.
TeeKay caught our attention with their new single Moments. This kind of retro nostalgic brilliance finds some retro futuristic relevance with subtle melodic quips that resonate with modern pop. It’s heard in the syncopated spaced out vocal and its repetitive design. Its an affect that cites modern electro pop, an element altered by the marrying of electronic dance aesthetic where the use of samples limited the adaptability of songs. In that way we also hear a connection to Kavinsky and his classic use of the repeating vocal within the genre.
Stylistically Moments falls more into the retro pop realm of FM-84 compared to Kavinsky’s dark underground feel, but we think fans of both projects will find TeeKay undeniable.
Hear Moments now on our Best New Synthwave Playlist
The Wild Is Calling 