Tag: Synth Pop

Unknown Caller’s funky indie synth pop vibes shimmer on ‘Borderline’

Posted on by ObscureSound
indie-funk-pop

The final of Unknown Caller‘s summer releases, “Borderline,” caps off the impressive run as a funky pop success.

Hazy synth pulses, funky rhythms, and charismatic vocals lead, reminding fondly of Toro y Moi’s aesthetic.

The NYC-based artist builds upon the funky suaveness with satiating results, the “I’m the boy,” rise captivating with heightened guitar and rhythmic emphasis. A smooth bridge around 02:20 — “can’t stop feeling paranoid,” — adds the feeling of a slowed-down jam to the mix, thoroughly succeeding, as the rest of the track does.

The track follows up “Waste Our Time” and “Sometimes” (feat. Noah Chenfeld).

Unknown Caller explains more about “Borderline” below:

“It’s about that transitional period of a relationship when you’re getting to know someone and everything clicks, but you’re both figuring out if a relationship is something you can balance. It’s also more broadly about being on that midway point – on the borderline of switching jobs, moving cities etc. My mid-20s often feel like a changing phase of my life and I wanted to capture that feeling.”

The final of Unknown Caller‘s summer releases, “Borderline” caps off the impressive run as a funky pop success. Hazy synth pulses, funky rhythms, and charismatic vocals lead, reminding fondly of Toro y Moi’s aesthetic. The NYC-based artist builds upon the funky suaveness with satiating results, the “I’m the boy,” rise captivating with heightened guitar and […]

by Mike Mineo of Obscure Sound

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Debut Synth Album by Astoria Legend

Posted on by Karl Magi

Initial Impressions

Astoria Legend’s self-titled album is bursting with glowing light, aching with melancholy nostalgia but still exuberant, full of life,/wp and touched by an irrepressible sense of hope. There are elements of synth pop integrated with synthwave, tinged by other influences to create a cohesive musical whole that I find quite engaging for my ears.

The first element to mention on this album is the excellent vocal work. The lead singer has a voice that can whisper or soar, caress or emote strongly. He has a quality of earnestness and passion that comes pouring out and suffuses the whole album with expression and sincerity.

Another strong part of Astoria Legend’s album is the lyrical content. The lyrics are full of intense imagery and pure emotional expression, and each song unfolds its own unique story. I get the sense that the words mattered as much as the music, so I am glad that this album can showcase them.

The way that Astoria Legend integrates the musical elements of the track has been well done. There are rich melodies that often contrast wistful emotions with hopeful, positive sensations. Those melodies are carried on synths that can leap and flash or caress with delicacy, while solid drums drive on and the music brims with emotion and surges with energy.

Track-by-Track Analysis

“Astoria Legend”

“Astoria Legend” sweeps into existence on a rising breath of wind while sparkling synth glows through it. Full, rich chords add support to the other musical elements. I enjoy the swell of choral sound that fills the sonic spaces of the track.

There’s something passionate about the vocal sounds as they soar over the high, glittering chimes and the weight of bass below. Clouds of synth sound swell and grow before slowly fading away again.

“The Door”

Solid, shifting bass leaps into “The Door” to start it off before the softness and emotional expression of the lead singer’s voice carries a gentle vocal melody over the unique, bursting drums. The chorus rises in a bright arc over the sunlight of flashing synth and the exuberant beat.

I am drawn to the impassioned guitar that whirls out in shimmering lines while the beat explodes forward again. Ripples of shiny sound are accented by a hollow, metallic series of notes. Trumpeting bursts of positive feeling synth cry out while the massive drums burst forward and the chorus rises above it all.

A new relationship can be like a portal to a new dimension of experiences and emotions. The lyrics of this song convey the feeling of a transformational connection. Our narrator begins as he is “uncovering the door” that he’s been chasing. He muses about whether he is reaching “in or outward” and asks, “Can you see yourself in my reflection?”

The chorus talks about how they’ll break the rules with ”spacetime in motion.” He promises that “tonight you can’t imagine, discover the word in absolute.” He says that she’ll experience magic “unfolding into action.”

Now he talks about how he’ll be waiting “another day alone” and he’ll listen for something calling to him. There’s a sense of despair as he talks of “seeing the dark in our dimension, the light burnt out.”

He extends an invitation to travel to “a world out of this world tonight” where they’ll ride “pure emotion” and paint ecstasy. I especially enjoy the image of “neon bleeding from the trees” while a vivid illustration is created.

“Hailey”

“Hailey” comes to life as rising, flowing synth chords are joined by a steady bass pulse. A full, round synth with a brassy glow carries a gently shadowed melody. I am a big fan of the lead singer’s expressive, caressing vocals as they move over the flashes of shining synth and the drum throb shapes the music.

The chorus is full of dreamy, wistful emotions while the bass and drum pulse easily propel the track forward. Glistening skeins of elevated synth weave in between the words, the deep bass heartbeat and the solid drums.

The yearning feeling in the vocals is now joined by dancing, whirling, medium high arpeggios before the track breaks into a half time pulse. Twinkling lines of synth shimmer through before the vocals rise in a powerful tide of expression.

The narrator talks about laying “on the moon one last time” because with “foresight we’d be livin’, counting on a wish to survive.” Even as the words leave his lips, he sees that “she’s getting closer, blaze illuminating, devouring.” He adds that “she’s taking over.”

There’s a sense of pleading I the lines, “Hailey bring me back to Earth. Coming down we seek forgiveness” as we’ve forgotten “our place among the stars.” He talks of her “shattering heat…burning bluer than her eyes in summer.” I also enjoy the imagery of her exploding into the ocean through a canopy of trees to create a “raging tidal wave’ that will wash everything away.

After all of this destruction, there will be a return of new life that will erase all the toxic elements. Hailey will leave “scars of gratitude” as she creates “what’s intended for.” The song ends as he begs her to “bring me back to Earth.”

“Surrender”

There’s an eruption of dynamic motion as “Surrender” comes to life. A bouncing line of synth volleys as smooth, warm synths fly into the track along with the emotive vocals. The weighty drums add propulsion and the bass supports the energetic, passionate vocal melody.

A compelling mixture of hope, anticipation and love fills the vocals and the drums explode forward again. The chorus cries out and rises in glittering clouds and the relentless beat pushes on. A segment in which shimmering synths drift in ethereal waves gives way to the song’s dynamic energy. Before the track ends, there’s a drift into sparkling chimes and flowing air before the chorus launches over the heartbeat of drums.

A feeling of escape and a sense of boundaries pushed fills the lyrics of this song. As we begin, a sense of danger and collapse touches the song with images of a loaded gun and a basket-case. The narrator says, “We’re on the run. Who could’ve known what’s right or wrong?”

He insists that “this one exception can’t be fatal to manage” but they soon realize that their cover has been blown and it’s a “blinding light, we should have known.” As everything falls apart, he adds that “the rain won’t even make a sound.”

The narrator promises “when she’s running, on fire, I’ll take the heat.” He talks of a spotlight burning through him and speaks of being “so fragile and desperate.” Now he asks, “Is this our surrender?” as he adds, “they’re calling for our surrender.”

A sense of defiance echoes through the line, “She said it’s time. Tear down the walls and we’ll be fine.” She adds, “Let’s not mistake adventure for romantics.” Now the narrator talks about raising a flag as “they’re taking aim” while the everything “crashes down” they are fighting to hold steady.


Now the “fires burn and burn out” as whispers call that it’s time to go. As the narrator is “wrapped in her arms, the undertow pulling me in” there’s an inner voice that speaks. It talks about “a world that’s even closer than we imagined” and ends with the line, “it’s just us two forever. Still I’m here with you.”

“The Weekend”

“The Weekend” opens with lush, slowly evolving synth chords and a charging beat. The vocals exude upbeat energy while rapid arpeggios glimmer over the drive of the drums. I am drawn to the earnest expression of the vocalist on this song.

Medium-low synth pulses cascade while the drums push the song ahead. There’s a mixture of summery hope and darker shadings of times that won’t come again in this song. Chiming stars of synth glitter and the vocal melody softly caresses the ears before the drums leap into action.

There’s a feeling of warmth shot through with loss in this song. The narrator talks bout how they’re on a “soiree, craving the taste of sugar” and they’re getting all dressed up. The narrator asks, “Will you promise me we’re going to lose our way?” since it is their getaway. I enjoy the imagery in the line, “a summer fading into the city breeze” as the narrator speaks of uncovering treasure underneath “every corner.”

The chorus is a soaring tribute to a road trip in which they “hit the back roads, to the highway with the throttle up.” He talks about how they’ll embrace “the bright lights…until the weekend ends.”

Power and speed are well reflected in the line “we’re breathing the redline” as he talks about jumping off and blacking out the morning. He says, “We really need the sunrise to keep us alive” and says he can feel the wind swirling around adding, “It’s such a pleasure to see.”

Their need to escape is strong otherwise they’ll “strip the city of the glamor, the allure” and lose “the power just to pretend.”

“Keep Running”

Delicately sparkling synth floats across the open soundscape of “Keep Running” as the drums leap in underneath the shining chimes and a deeper synth that doubles them. I enjoy the way the glistening synth melody moves with the dancing vocal melody. The song drifts into a gentle section in which light-filled synths glow and the beat keeps pushing forward.

The synths have a metallic shimmer to them as the melody arcs and skips over the drums.A segment with flowing air, and the cascading, massive feeling drums as a more delicate section quickly leaps back into the chorus and the drums propel the track while the warm, positive melody buoys up the song.

I am drawn to the nautical imagery and the sense of trying to break free in the lyrics of the song. As we begin, we see the song’s subject “sailing into the night, splitting faces to decide if he’s still alive.” The sense of asserting oneself is expressed in the line, “It doesn’t matter if there’s room, he shouted out, I’m making my own.”

There’s strong imagery created in the line, “Push it down until the moon calls, howling out.” He speaks of the tide breaking to bring him home, but he doesn’t want to return. The sense of his footsteps being dogged is well-expressed in the line, “Shadows following at midnight follow closely ’til morn or I’ll slip away” still he keeps on “running away from you.”

Now he’ll make the cliffs as “the clouds align, flash of a silhouette.” There’s something raw and elemental in the verse, “Feel the slack, the line. The swell will eat you alive.” The feeling of pressing on regardless comes through as he talks about the roof being shattered and the rain coming in, but still he’s going to “push it up until the flood comes rushing out.”

He talks about how he’s hiding in the light and “holding on to what remains.” He is called but “still I keep running away from you” as there’s a “sinking surround” and a reckoning while he’s running out.

“Evolve”

“Evolve” opens with fragile, airy piano lightly brushing into the music as the track begins to crescendo before the throbbing, solid drums move with the glinting synths. The vocal melody is full of gentleness and ease while indistinct voices murmur in the background.

Arpeggiating patterns of notes are carried on a full, sunny synth and the beat adds a bounce to the song. The vocals yearn and rise, full of power and expression while the increasing energy of the music reaches ever higher. There is light pouring out of every musical element in this song.

A palpable sense of deep love and fear of losing it fills the lyrics of this song. One of the two characters n the song shows outward calm but he’s “beating on the in.” The other is “clutching at her arms, she seems unsure” while they draw closer.


The chorus asks, “How could I live without your love?” and adds “all that I have can’t be enough.” The song expresses it in terms of a dance. The question of living without the other person’s love is posed again and worry fills the line, “It’s been a lifetime. Shadows in the sunset they’ve grown.”

There’s wonderful imagery in the lines, “She’s wild as ever, skipping through the flame grass” and in the idea that she breathes for him. With the closure, “come closer” in life and emotion. The narrator speaks of “love driving us out of the dark” as they wait for “the first to come enlighten you.”

The song ends on the idea of “a love so pure it pierces through, tailored to you.”

“It’s Our Time, Down Here”

Slightly shadowed chords move with a very high, shimmering chime that ever so delicately brushes the music to start “It’s Our Time, Down Here.” Waves of lower sound move under the bell-like synths that move with melodic grace over the thumping kick drum pulse. The drums come in with full power and the caressing vocals call out.

An elevated synth carries a hopeful melody that doubles the vocal melody. I enjoy the earnest, emotive vocals that are full of honesty. Synths flicker like shafts of sunlight and the vocals soar over the drum and bass pulse. There’s an intricate guitar solo that trips lightly over the notes, cartwheeling and crying out with passion over the beat’s pulse.

Nostalgia is often a complex mixture of emotions that are examined well in this song’s lyrics. There’s a feeling of unreality as the narrator talks about how, “I first saw it in a movie, she’s stretched out in front of me, spinning under the sunset.”

He talks about how it was easy the last time and adds “take in the ocean breeze, I could never forget that.” The good days are “calling my name and lately I can’t find myself” he says. There are flashbacks that might drive him “crazy dreaming of the days we tried to outrun the sunset.”

Memories of the excitement of taking “the long way with the top down” as they were chased around the lake shore by the police” make him want to return to those days. I especially enjoy the image in the words, “a hot pink Lamborghini pressed on a white t-shirt, I could never forget that” and again he aches to return to those times.

Conclusion

Astoria Legend’s debut album comes on strong with emotive vocals, explosive energy and a rich sonic palette that allows for lush synth sounds to give full expression to the earnest passion that fills each part of it.

Karl Magi

Synth Album Review: Daniel Quasar’s ‘WAVES’

Posted on by Karl Magi

Daniel Quasar’s WAVES is an album exploring issues of being and becoming, along with loss and pain. Their emotional exploration also includes a sonic palette that further emphasizes the themes that appear in the song lyrics with sensations of emptiness, desolation, and drift emanating from the synths that they use. The feeling of deep loneliness is occasionally pierced by light and moments that are more uplifting.

The first element that drew me to WAVES is the caliber of Daniel Quasar’s songwriting. They are able to craft words that clearly and sharply delineate emotion and humanity. Their insight into thought and feeling allows the songs to cut incisively into the listener’s mind and plant the ideas there. I also enjoy their way of crafting strong images through words.

Another strong aspect of the album is the use of synths to evoke feelings of emptiness, vast cosmic voids, and great distance. There are cold, starry twinkling sounds, glitches, and static along with moments of deep bass and sounds all backed by wide open sonic space. Those sensations of separation and division match the lyrical content nicely. I find myself transported by the overall sonic palette of the music and carried on a space journey.

I also find myself drawn in by the way Daniel Quasar uses their voice. They have a natural ache in their singing that only emphasizes the emotional content of the music more but they have also effectively used a vocal filter that creates a robotic tone. The feelings of isolation, cold, and distance are all powerfully present and deepen the strength of the lyrical content further.

My Favourite Tracks Analyzed

“UPGRADE” comes into being with a great void of open space around Daniel Quasar’s robotically distorted voice and a hollow, metallic sound that expands into that vast sonic space. Echoing, bouncing and metallic sounds keep flowing out into the cosmic void along with their distorted vocals.

Sharp-edged, medium-low synth sounds drift in waves as they’re joined by the throbbing pulse of the beat. Their vocals drift along through space and the beat feels relentless as the hard-edged synths growl into cavernous space. Now we fade into those broken, brief sounds and clouds of sharp-edged synth underneath and the beat breaks apart. Their voice has a lost quality as it moves into the song.

Dislocation, loss, and a sense of confusion fill the words of this song. The narrator talks about feeling something coming from all around. They ask, “What was I thinking? Leave it all behind.” There is uncertainty for them as they wonder, “If I take it all when it comes, will I make it to the other side?”

The confusion seems to reign as our narrator isn’t sure about what’s going on. They do, however, realize that it “won’t be long ’til I find myself in another place” where they’ll be “left to devices” and can’t go wrong.

Intense feelings grow like “a storm brewing in my mind” and as they go into the rush, ‘it feels like desire.” They ask if they weather it, will they find themselves “planed even higher?”

Uncertainty grows too as they are “stuck in this from within” on a path that was chosen but the narrator questions whether the choice was theirs at all. Even if it was, they ask,” Could I change the pace? Find some meaning held deep inside.”

Shadowy waves of computerized synth sound rise in dark, full chords to open “Lonely Soldier (feat. Vice)” as deep tubular bells move below Daniel Quasar’s expressive vocals. The dense clouds of trembling synth echo out around the lost, almost spectral vocals. There is a brightness in the synths that move in, but it’s the cold and empty light of distant stars.

The vocals interlock with the deep resonance of the tubular bells before Vice starts to rhyme over the stuttering beat and floating synths that ripple out behind the music. Daniel Quasar’s voice fits the emotional tenor of this music well. High, whistling, ethereal synth moves in shifting lines and the deep tubular bells swell and fade out to end the track.

A tale of a robotic or cybernetic soldier unfolds in the lyrics. The character in the story is “frozen in a lake of every kind of danger” and is surrounded by it. It is taking over and the soldier’s answer to not knowing where to go is to “breakthrough.”

Even after taking the time to “realign” their surroundings, the protagonist realizes that something is quite wrong. The main character is just ”a lonely soldier, mechanical wonder” who has been “through the fire and out from under.”

Loss and emptiness permeate the song in the lines, “I don’t know what it takes but I don’t fit in this place. There’s no one else here.” The soldier comes to eventually realize that “it’ll fall apart if I mine this iron heart.”

Our narrator points out that we take our time to survive but asks, “How will you know when you crossed that line?”

Vice’s rhymes are enjoyably complex and nuanced verse. It is from the main character’s perspective and contains some powerful images. This is a journey into a slowly dawning comprehension that has been hard-won. There is a need to let go and break free of old patterns expressed here.

I have some favorites out of the rhymes that were created. I enjoy the contradictory feelings in the line, “crave the morning light which I refuse to harness.” I love the tripartite personality shown in the words, “a lonely soldier or a broken man or a chrysalis bursting in my squeezing hand.”

I enjoy the vigilance and seeking being described in the words, “I keep an eye on my mind and on my latent desires. Ever searching for an ember to kindle a flame” and the neat phrasing in the line, “there isn’t a science to the art of being.”

The realization that inner knowledge is the most important form of knowledge is expressed in the words, “Of course that ember’s hidden deep inside, only recognized by the eternal eye.”

I am enamored of the sophistication in the lyrics that say, “against the grain of generations of pain, epigenetically embedded in our bones and veins.” I enjoy the interwoven rhyme inside the lines, “Its armor slow sundering, the siren call of these luxuries, that constant psychic hungering.”

“LAST/STEP” comes to life as a rush of tight synth sound moves into the wide-open sonic spaces of the track. Medium-high synth moves in rising lines over the deep wells of bass and a throbbing drumbeat that becomes more active as it moves, but still brushes the surface of the track rather lightly.

Sharp synth rises in minor key lines and the drums gain some power as all of the sounds rush on in shadowy space. The beat launches again along with some astral, breathy, open sounds flowing out into the track. I enjoy the mixture of glow and ache in those lambent notes. I also like how the melodic segment is slowed down so the melody unfolds more gradually.

Bursts of glimmering synth are joined by high, slicing sounds that move over the throbbing beat as “Celestial Beings” kicks off. The beat fades for a moment as shimmering, airy synths flash into the track and weave a bright tapestry. The beat rises and again drops off as the synths swirl together as a high melody calls out in a wandering line.

I am drawn to the flash and sparkle of this track, balanced against elements that feel tense and nervous. Above all of the other sonic elements of the track, the flickering synths dance. The beat drops out again and a sawtoothed synth cuts in and fades before the beat re-establishes itself. A quick line of glowing, cascading synth moves and wiggles above the track as it closes out.

“Wild Abandon” beings with oscillating synth waves floating out over the gently throbbing drums and Daniel Quasar has imbued their voice with a robotic distortion, creating an alien feeling. I enjoy how the robotic vocals effectively increase the sense of desolation the permeates this album. A synth with a ragged edge and a hard glitter flashes into the track and the beat has a smooth, full feeling.

Over the beat, the synth drifts into medium-high, guitar-like waves. An echoing, metallic circular sound is joined by a high, howling synth. Like many of the tracks on this album, it has an open and spaced-out feeling that adds to the overall impressions of alienation and struggle with inner complexity.

A sense of questioning and seeking fills the lyrics of this song. Our narrator begins by saying,” Can’t seem to understand, there are mysteries all around.” They continue to question if it’s something that they could even change and if so “could I hold it down?”

Their mind is racing with “wildly abandoned thoughts” but they still are forced to ask, “Why is this silence so loud when I can’t seem to make a sound?” There is an internal struggle going on as the narrator feels tears on their face but asks, “What is this I am trying to feel?”

Now they cry out, “Mysteries escape and again, couldn’t I just speak aloud?” The feeling of incomprehension is clear as they say they can’t understand and add, “if it’s something I can, could i hold it down?

Ghostly, elevated synths that drift out into space are joined by brittle metallic xylophone notes and a harsh, clashing beat as “Proto” starts. Raised synth bursts over top in glistening notes that carry a minor key pattern. A warmer, richer flow of synth comes in with the sound of tubular bells and the lead synth has a triumphant quality to it.

Another moment of metallic tinkling moves in before the raised, round-sounding synths climb up over the depth and weight underneath them. I am drawn to how all of the synth elements intertwine in this track. The rising waves of notes are underpinned by more shadowed swirls of sound and the bursting beat that hits under it and we fade out on shimmering notes and ghostly chimes.

“BLUE” opens on elevated, bright, glitchy synth sounds that are reminiscent of a cassette tape being rewound over a smooth, flowing background. Daniel Quasar’s voice drifts into the openness as a steady drum heartbeat pulse and accelerates. The beat subdivides and in the background gliding, airy sounds shift and coalesce.

Once more, Daniel Quasar’s vocal distortion adds to the feeling of dislocation. The high, twisting synth slowly moves in the background and again there is a half-time beat. A pipe organ-like synth twines out a series of melodic, caressing notes and we fade into silence.

This is one of the more positive songs on the album as it speaks of progress and change for the better. The narrator says that they have changed and that they “realize things are different,
I know I did you wrong” but now they are set free and they want to make amends.

They ask what the person they’re addressing sees n their eyes and if they’d see “would you see the same life as i do?” Our narrator speaks of a spiritual change in them and adds, “I’ve grown to such great heights. I’ve seen the world, the universe for what it’s worth.”

The narrator concludes, “I’ve seen the end and I’ll do so much more.”

Hollow synth sounds fill the opening of “COLORS” before they’re joined by a string-like sound that cascades through the song behind Daniel Qasar’s distinctive voice as they sing in Japanese. Slow arpeggios revolve and the beat pulses as the synths glide and swirl around.

I enjoy the angular quality to the shining guitar melody that moves through the song. Tense, tight pulses of shiny and metallic synth glide out through the track, moving under the expressive vocals.

The song has more forward motion now as it drives on and that angular guitar melody fades to flashing string-like sounds and open space. The slow arpeggios gently turn before the dynamic, rising guitar melody cries out and the beat pulses onward. The vocal melody doubles the guitar and the guitar sings out in long lines of shimmering notes.

In keeping with the ideas and themes explored on this album, COLORS is a song by the Japanese artist Hikaru Utada that explores themes of connection, dissolution, and identity. Daniel Quasar chose well when they picked it.

“Ambivalent” comes to life with static glitch and twist flowing out into space, like a signal cut loose from its source. Elevated piano notes drift into the music through the open space all around them. The patterns of notes rise and fall into the emptiness around them, echoing out in repeating lines as a deeper flow of bass and a slow, full drumbeat gives the track form and shape. as rich but slightly edged synths rise up in full waves to support the music.

The synths shift in medium-low waves as elevated, lost feeling piano drifts over the growing sonic strength underneath it. Slow, gentle notes swirl out into the echoing emptiness that feels like it might never end. The repeating piano line has a hypnotic quality that I find addictive. The slight buzz of the lower synths swells up again and the whorls of sound intertwine with the deep bass.

A quick rush of sound rises and floats out into space along with a keyboard-like swirl of sound as “Drift(Fate) begins. Some unique percussion adds a rather ethnic flavor to the track as flowing synth notes move through the grand aural void of the track. There’s an elevated synth pattern that has a whorled quality to it.

A round, glitching, twisting synth carries a wandering line over the beat, and lighter sounds gleam in the distance. I like the complex nature of this track as glitchy synth twists and piano notes that cluster and wriggle through as the beat continues onward. As the track ends, alone twisting and distorted synth flows out into vast space.

Conclusion

WAVES is a rich, nuanced listen that voyages across the deep emotional territory and create a wide-open, cold soundscape along with a very human examination of vulnerabilities and ways to grow.

Karl has been a freelance writer for over 10 years. He’s passionate about music, art, and writing!

Album Review: ‘A Cup of Good Smelling Coffee’ by Flamingo Jones

Posted on by IRC Staff

Initial Impressions

Flamingo Jones’ A Cup of Good Smelling Coffee takes a unique approach to synth-based music that incorporates a broad range of influences and musical ideas. The sonic story told by this album is both aching and wistful. Flamingo Jones keeps my ears ready to hear the story unfold through the richness of his music.

One of the main features that draws me to this album is the varied sonic palette that Flamingo Jones uses. There are a whole range of synths that sometimes glow and sometimes feel sharper and harder, but even more interesting are the different acoustic, organic elements that he brings to the music. There’s piano that can be jazzy or gentle and guitar with unique tones from warmer and rounder to funkier that also add their own voices to the tracks.

Speaking of voices, Flamingo Jones adds vocals that are introspective and soft-spoken but the lyrics they express have their own individual qualities that express some part of the artist’s personality, showing a fresh view of the world. They aren’t long songs but they do express a emotive quality that I find engaging.

I enjoy the genre-hopping of this album as well. There are times when it channels New Wave music, others that have a jazz influence and sometimes there’s even a little touch of something on the folksier end of the spectrum. The end result is indeed a tasty auditory brew to nourish the ears.

Track-by-Track Breakdown

“A Cup Of Good Smelling Coffee” starts off with a swirling mist of synths and the steady tick of percussion before a hard hitting drumbeat shapes the music along with a ‘50s style ad voice over for good smelling coffee. A steady, distorted synth pulse and a repeating darkly trumpeting, sharp edged musical line also moves through along with bright, slightly edgy sounds. A melodic synth line wriggles through before a synth that is like a shiny xylophone carries a thready line of sound.

A stuttering beat and dark, hard sounds roil below the more elevated elements. I enjoy the use of shattered vocals threading in and out of the music, adding an oddly unsettling feeling to the track. There’s a dense thickness to the growling pulses of synth before a drifting segment and again the vocal sample, the breaking beat and the high flash of synth.

The soft drift of water and a full, caressing piano opens “Flamingos Love Waterpools.” The piano carries warmly rising notes and delicate chords as the vocals float through the background and there’s a full, fuzzy noise accompanying unique metallic sounds. Round, circling synths flare in a steadily moving pattern and the beat guides the track forward along with a pulse of medium low synth and the gentle vocals.

I enjoy the hazy, relaxing sensations that permeate the music along with the intriguing percussion as a deep, shifting bass line moves in. A synthesizer with a flaring glow burst into the music and there’s a serene flow to the rising, drifting line of synth that echoes through before the waves flow into silence.

The lyrics are a wistful expression of life changing and time passing as they say,”You can blame it on me. You know in time we’ll leave it all behind, it wasn’t meant to be. You’ll never feel the sunlight or hear the song.”

“Campfire Feels” kicks off with wandering jazzy piano and adds adds some funky strings to the mix along with a high, distant sound. A solid beat hits the track and a smooth, roaming line of medium high synth flows over the gliding drumbeat that shapes the track.

A floating, glimmering synth line slips over open background as the ultra-cool guitar sound flickers in and through the track. I like how laid back and jazz inflected this particular campfire is. It gives me an impression of extreme calm and I think we all need a bit of that these days!

A drippy, steady pulse and echoing vocals drifts into open space as the caressing, easily gliding lead synth glows as “Stephanie Leaves the Marketplace” comes into being. The melody that is full, all encompassing and full of smooth touches as the vocals also lightly move through the music.

I’m drawn to the ringing, round guitar tone as it carries the soothing melody that adds to the caring, dreaming feeling that permeates the track. Light and air imbue every aspect of the music. The emotional content of the lyrics is complemented by the feelings in the music. There’s a reverberating, echoing sound gliding through the open spaces of the track before it breaks to gentle sounds.

There’s a wistful beauty to the words as the narrator asks, “Don’t you know I’m still with you?” as he remembers the sight of “sunlight shining off the moon.” I get the feeling that the person he’s talking about when he says, “As Stephanie leaves the marketplace, I see that look on your face” is himself in another life.

“A Gentle Agitation” comes to life with an easy going, sliding sensation as chimes swirl through the music and bird song is joined by the simple brightness of the laid back, relaxing melody as a shimmer of chimes again moves along with round, metallic sounds.

Gentle, shifting piano chords and splashing sound glide into the track before a tech-y round and distorted synth and cascading, singing full sounds like tuned metal shift with the steady throb of the drums. There’s one more shift to a computerized, hard sound and then silence ensues.

A smooth and easily throbbing beat shifts underneath a slightly twangy and jazzy guitar to start off “An Evening Stroll” as a flow of wind blows through the track. Flamingo Jones’ voice, soft and whispering, moves through the open background. I enjoy the impressions of a forlorn and lonely wanderer, tempting to just give in.

Full, slightly shadowed synths drift over the smooth drums and the beat grows stronger under descending piano chords. The tempo picks up, propelling the track with more energy as a fuzzy guitar tone carries notes that extend into the track.

A profound, deep sadness fills the lyrics of this song. A sense of emptiness and desolation fills the lines that start “join me for an evening stroll” and end successively “join me out here in the cold…join me out here among the ghosts.”

There’s a sense of peace and resignation in the verse, “You can rest upon the ground and sleep forever when you’ve found me” and even a feeling of something inviting in the words, “We can talk oh so profoundly, sleep forever now you’ve found me.”

“The Lure Of The Ice Flats” comes to life with icy winds over the steady ticking of the drums while clouds of warmer sound flow around the airy rush. The percussion shapes the track slowly as medium-high synth and a hollow reverberating sound shifts in the background.

I am enamoured of the soothing, all encompassing guitar chords that slide into the music. An elevated synth calls out, full and roaming, over the beat that moves in and through the music. A glitchy, static sounding line wriggles through the track over the onrushing air and the drums slip along with a gentle touch.

Conclusion

A Cup Of Good Smelling Coffee is a rather unique, intriguing collection of synth-based music. It has a distinctive quality and a wistful, varied and emotive musical landscape that is laid out in a fresh and ear grabbing way.

Album Review: LWTHR’s synth-dom ‘Home’

Posted on by Karl Magi
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Read on to find out why I enjoy how “Home” creates luscious, intricate soundscapes that are full of hope, but touched by melancholy.

Initial Impressions

LWTHR’s Home is an album that is full of dreamy drifts of warm sound, lovingly crafted melodies and spans a broad range of synth tones, timbres and textures that paint rich aural imagery in the mind of the listener.

The first element that I feel makes Home work well is the dreaming, misty quality of many parts of the album. There are softly glowing, floating soundscapes that sparkle with light and glide along with ease. It’s the mental equivalent of taking a deep, cleansing breath as one listens to the music.

LWTHR also has a gift for melodic writing and it shows on the album. The melodies he creates are clear, memorable and emotive. I enjoy how many of them are positive and hopeful, but always have just a touch of melancholy or sadness. There’s something touching in that combination for me.

There’s a richness and depth to the synth choices that have been made on Home. LWTHR explores a wide variety of synth sounds that run the gamut from clear and sharp to gentler and more flowing. Along with full bass and solid drums, all of the different musical elements work together to create a full sounding album.

My Favourite Tracks Analyzed

“Pathfinder Mission” kicks off with trembling, rattling sounds fill the wide open void of space as a steadily rising series of cosmic, caressing notes are joined by uplifting piano chords.

Full arpeggios glimmer and dance as the solid, pulsating drumbeat adds form to the music. An elevated, metallic synth carries a shining line of synth that mirrors the waves of lambent sound that throb out over the beat’s steadiness.

The shimmering synths play extended lines of oscillating sound while delicate aural mist swirls. A repeating, trembling line of synth rises and falls as piano chords climb and sing into the track. I am drawn toward the cascading torrents of light flowing from this track.

Computerized, round sounding waves of medium-high synth ripple across the surface of “Aurora Australis” as soft, ticking percussion becomes a throbbing pulse and whorls of synth coalesce and cry out a hopeful, heart warming melody over the substantial drums. I enjoy the caressing nature of the melody in this track.

A rich, slightly distorted series of notes moves behind the melodic line, wobbling a little, as it glimmers into the open air of the music. There’s a momentary lapse into silence before the steady beat shapes the music again. The bright melody dreams over the chest deep beat while arpeggios spread in glowing ripples while warm chords flow.

“Dreaming Cities” begins with keyboard notes that have a twisting edge to them as they move in a tide of oscillating sound. A lush, slightly sharp-edged synth carries an unsettled melodic pattern as another bursting, wandering synth with a technological feeling flickers and washes outwards through the track.

There’s an impression of a dream that isn’t completely pleasant in this track. A circular, glistening sound shifts while the beat pulsates and adds motion to the track. The melodic synths expand through the track and another evolving, shifting line of synth flows out in an oscillating rush before the track returns to the “A” section.

A full, intertwined synth wash is joined by a warmly lapping melody that sings out with light and ease to open “Perpetual Motion.” I am touched by the message of hope that the music exudes.

An elevated, shimmering line of synth soars upwards over the steady beat’s gliding throb while stacked, ever climbing chords are broken into by a quickly spinning arpeggio.

The song’s hopeful message is emphasized by a robotic voice repeating the phrase “Nobody’s stopping us now” and stuttering, throbbing broken beats move along with nasal-sounding, leaping arpeggios that move in dense clouds. Climbing, drifting synths keep adding brightness before the track breaks to the robotic voice and smoothly sliding and sparkling tides of sound.

Dense, slightly gritty washes of sound move into “Sega Blue Skies” with expanding circles of medium-low synth hat vibrate out into the music over the slow tempo of the drums. Rapidly leaping lines of chip sound flare through the music and the relentless patterns of vibrating synth sound go on. Chip sounds arpeggiate and wriggle rapidly through the track before a massive drum fill hits.

A synth that gives a rocking sensation to the music rises and falls in uneven pulses. I am enamoured of the feeling of energetic agitation in this track. Expansive synth chords add more depth and a feeling of fullness before glimmering, leaping chip sounds flicker through in a surging tide before silence falls.

“Andromeda Initiative” comes to life with a delicate airy background and sweeping synth notes that extend out over it. A glittering arpeggio circles slowly as a steady pulsation of sunlit synth moves in lines that flow on and on. The beat comes into the track with a solid weight to guide it along. I am pulled in by the addictive combination of gentleness and wistful aching in the main melody as medium-low, round synth carries descending musical patterns.

There’s a drum fill before coruscating, slow bursts of synth move over the reverberating echoes of glowing sound underneath. The pained, softly touching melody slips into the track while the drums keep shaping and propelling the music in smooth forward motion. The lead synth now breaks into the descending patterns of sound, matched by the beat and a bass oscillation that flows into the echoing drift.

Conclusion

LWTHR creates luscious, intricate soundscapes on Home that combine with his melodic chops and a feeling of hope and dreaming that is just a little tragic and melancholy. I find that this album relaxes me while still engaging me as a listener.

Best New Releases – The Kills, Raveonettes, Cold Cave, Scattered Trees, Maritime, Code Pie, Amores Vigilantes, Cursed Arrows

Posted on by Max Hammer

While this time of year brings warmer temperatures and more hours of daylight, this week’s new releases are thematically more fitting for the dead of winter – with its unforgiving and bitter cold, asphalt grit and grime, absence of leaves, grass and flowers, and the long, harsh hours of darkness.

On that note, and leading the way for this week’s new releases, are The Kills. Their spectacular new album, Blood Pressures, capitalizes on the duo’s innate ability to craft harsh, gritty, bluesy, dark songs.  They are just masters of their domain, and the new LP reaffirms the legitimacy of their reign.

It’s been three years since the release of the last Kills’ album, so it really wasn’t a surprise to the indie press and blogsophere that the official release of Blood Pressures was proceeded by weeks of chatter and buzz around a couple of killer advanced singles, the first being “Satellite.”

“Satellite” – The Kills from Blood Pressures

“Satellite” was The Kills throwing a beat-up, but still fresh bone to the junkyard dog. And they left plenty of flesh to chew. The average Kills’ fan appreciates this, and “Satellite” turned out to be the perfect tease for the release of Blood Pressures.

On the surface, “Satellite” sounds like the title of a song that is perhaps warm and fuzzy, an atmospheric tune filled with treble-heavy, spacey synthesizers and peppy surf-rock guitars.

But instead, The Kills’ “Satellite” is industrial-style rocker that swaggers and romps from the start, and grows even more dark and sinister as it stomps along. It’s a powerful track that sounds like it belongs on a mixtape for the younger biker generation, and, in some cases, the tie-at-work-only office dweller who likes to unravel and let it rip and rumble in the off hours.

“DNA” –The Kills from Blood Pressures

The Kills are easily one of the best kick-ass revivalist garage rock duos of the past decade. The duo is American singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and indie A-list celeb Alison Mosshart and British guitarist Jamie Hince.  They formed The Kills in 2000 and have released four albums, including their latest. The prolific Mosshart is also a band member of the supergroup, The Dead Weather, with Jack White of The White Stripes, another bluesy garage rock boy/girl duo The Kills are often compared to. However, The White Stripes announced their official breakup a couple of months ago.  Mosshart has also been a studio and tour member of The Raconteurs.

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The Raveonettes Add More Noise and Synth Pop To The Rock

And as if a new album from The Kills is not enough for fans of indie rock male-female duos, the Danish noise pop and garage rock duo The Raveonettes, dropped their new, and more noise pop-oriented LP, Raven In The Grave, this week. In fact, The Raveonettes’ new album is not nearly as a consistent cut-throat garage rocker as The Kills’ Blood Pressures, but it definitely has its moments.

The first official single, “Forget That You’re Young” is a well-crafted noise pop track and one of the album’s highlights.  But, it’s the track “Recharge and Revolt,” that is perhaps the album’s stand out track, yet that’s a bit difficult to say until we listen to the entire album more than a couple of times.  “Recharge and Revolt” is an inspiring, uptempo gem mixed nicely with lo-fi guitar strumming, a blazing background, one note feedback riff nearly drowned out by glimmering new wave style synth pop, wonderful reverb vocals and a melodic bass line. It’s The Raveonettes at their finest, and one of 2011’s best tracks.

“Recharge and Revolt” –  The Raveonettes from Raven In The Grave (Amazon Exclusive MP3 Version)

The new album is the duo’s fifth LP since their 2003 highly acclaimed debut, Chain Gang of Love. The release of Raven In The Grave marks The Raveonettes’ third LP release with Vice Records.

“Forget That You’re Young” – The Raveonettes from Raven In The Grave (Amazon Exclusive MP3 Version)

thecloselobstersSidebar – Close Lobsters:  We couldn’t help but to think of the terrific 80’s post-punk band, Close Lobsters, while listening to “Recharge and Revolt” (above).

So, we’ve included a track from CL for the hell of it. In case you are interested in hearing more from CL, we recommend Foxheads Stalk This Land, (1986).

“Foxheads” –  Close Lobsters from Foxheads Stalk This Land (1986)

The Close Lobsters were a Scottish band who were only together for four years (1985-1989). They were instrumental in the C86 movement. On the NME‘s free 22-track C86 compilation, which features some of key bands who profoundly influenced the emerging indie rock genre, especially in the U.K., the Close Lobsters are included among many other great bands like The Soup Dragons, The Pastels, The Mighty Lemon Drops, Primal Scream, and The Wedding Present, among others.

coldcavebandOK, so back to the new stuff. In addition to The Kills and The Raveonettes, the third album out this week that we strongly recommend is the sophomore LP from the experimental new wave/darkwave band Cold Cave. The lead single, “Great Pan Is Dead” is a towering wall of rushing sounds, exploding with immediacy and fueled by high octane synth pop and driving percussion.

Overwhelmingly melodic and metallic at the same time (a feat very difficult to pull off, even by seasoned pros), “The Great Pan is Dead” has already made its way on to our Best Songs of 2011 (So Far) draft mix, which we hope to have completed and posted sometime in the next seven to ten days. Cold Cave is the musical project of New York musician and Matador artist Wesley Eisold. In live shows, Eisold is accompanied by Dominick Fernow and Jennifer Clavin. Also recommend catching them live when they come around to your city.

“Great Pan Is Dead” – Cold Cave from Cherish the Light Years (Bonus Track)

As we were putting together this weeks’ recommended best releases, we quickly realized that all of the official singles from new albums in and of themselves make for a fantastic mix of superb 2011 tracks. The next two singles from Chicago band Scattered Trees, and the Milwaukee band, Maritime, are easily at the top of this list for good reason.

Scattered Trees’ lead single, “A Conversation About Death on New Year’s Eve” is a mellow and shimmering indie electropop tune thick with synthesizers, mastered vocals, and subdued percussion that builds as the song progresses. Interestingly, the band self-describes their genre on their MySpace page as “glam,” which is sort of close, but an unusual proclamation.

Unlike the other albums mentioned above, we’ve not yet had a chance to listen to all of Sympathy, but would love to hear comments from those of you who have. We were a bit surprised to see that Scattered Trees does not yet have a Wikipedia entry. We can’t imagine that being the case for much longer. Hello Chicago?

“A Conversation About Death on New Year’s Eve” – Scattered Trees from Sympathy

The single, “Paraphernalia,” from Maritime‘s new LP, Human Hearts, is a catchy pop rocker that is not quite the stoner track the song title may imply to some people. In fact, singer and guitarist, Davey Von Bohlen, told Spinner about the single: “This is one of those songs that arrives by almost accident where it becomes a finished song and we all realize it together at some point in the middle of playing it.”

“Paraphernalia” – Maritime from Human Hearts

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Awesome Singles from Bands New-To-Us

The string of great singles continues with fresh tracks from new releases by a trio of bands we never heard of (but are glad we did) until receiving the official singles recently from their new albums, out this week.

Although the new-to-us Montreal band Code Pie have been around since 2002, we only heard of them for the first time after they sent the official first single, “North Side City View,” from their third album, and their first LP since 2007.

“North Side City View” – Code Pie from Love Meets Rage

Amores Vigilantes

Originally founded in 1999 as Love Vigilantes after the New Order song of the same name, yet another duo, this time from San Francisco, have a new album out this week. Amores Vigilantes eventually changed their band name by simply translating it into Spanish.  Little over a year ago, in December of 2009, the band released the album, West Coast Kingdom, from which many of the songs received heavy rotation on college radio, the web and music blogs, and even in Starbucks store playlist.  Amores Vigilantes include among their influences – and often sound like – The Stone Roses, New Order, and even Velvet Underground.

“You Can’t Live Forever in Paradise on Earth (Without Me)”–  Amores Vigilantes from You Can’t Live Forever In Paradise On Earth (Without Me)

One of the themes running through this week’s Best New Releases is that of grit, darkness and saber-cutting rock.

Add to the list the band Wolf Ram Heart.

They solidified their case for being included among our recommended releases by supplying two tracks from their album Betrayal of Hearts via Sovereign States Records.

“Humming Doves” – Wolf Ram Heart from Betrayal of Hearts

“Viewgirls” – Wolf Ram Heart from Betrayal of Hearts

Husband-and-Wife Garage Rock Duo, Curse Arrows

And now, we’d like to introduce yet another rock duo from Canada. Just in this post alone, we have like four duos, and over the past few years, there has been a virtual deluge of rock duos. Cursed Arrows is one of the latest. The husband-and-wife band hail from Halifax–

via-Ontario, and belt out scuzzy, noise rock, on their new album, The Madness of Crowds, while on other tracks of the LP, they present more poetic lyrics and passionate keys. We’re stoked to be able to present two tracks from The Madness of Crowds, plus a convincing cover of the PJ Harvey track, “Rid of Me,” which is not available on the new album.

Apparently, the album is only available for a name-your-price checkout on Cursed Arrows Bandcamp page. We’ll definitely be keeping an ear out for their head-crushing, kick-ass bluesy garage rock.

“Death Rattle Blues” – Cursed Arrows from The Madness of Crowds

Double-shot: “The Madness of Crowds” – Cursed Arrows from The Madness of Crowds

Bonus: “Rid of Me” (PJ Harvey) – Cursed Arrows

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Also, check out these fresh singles from new releases by Glasvegas, Jeff Beam, as well as from solo albums by Bill Callahan of Smog, and singer/songwriter and musician Alela Diane.

“The World Is Yours” – Glasvegas from Euphoric/Heartbreak

“People Places” – Jeff Beam from Venus Flying Trapeze

“To Begin” – Alela Diane from Alela Diane & Wild Divine

“Baby’s Breath” – Bill Callahan from Apocalypse

The following singles require that you click on the single to either listen via Soundcloud or download the single on another page, including Timber Timbre, Blueprint, and Erza Furman & The Harpoons

“Black Water” – Timber Timbre from Creep On Creepin’ On

“My Culture” – Blueprint from Adventures in Counter-Culture

“Hard Time in a Terrible Land” – Ezra Furman & The Harpoons from Mysterious Power

Other New Tracks That Some Folks Might Like

This section includes new singles from new releases that are not part of our recommendation for new albums to purchase, but some of our readers might enjoy these tracks, so we include them for that reason only.

“Time Forgot (To Change My Heart)” – Daniel Romano from Sleep Beneath the Willow

“Steam” – Hammer No More The Fingers from Black Shark

“Usual Suspects” – Ha Ha Tonka from Death of a Decade