Okolo Poludnya are a band out of Russia who have mastered the art of nostalgic synth-pop. Well done, and considering how old synth-pop is, it’s nice to hear bands keeping the genre sounding fresh.
Tag: Synthpop
Spammerheads – Tar Blood / Cement Skin
I grew up with Electronic Body Music during my high-school years when my little brother and I would go clubbing in Hollywood, and the music has stuck with me for well over three decades. Spain’s Spammerheads have made a sound that would compliment early Front Line Assembly, the harsher vocal aspects of Front 242, and…
Y Bülbül – Fever
What a charmingly weird discovery this is! Yiğit Bülbül is a London-based musician whose roots are in Turkey, and this mini-album combines the experimentation of artists like Holger Czukay with the dulcet sounds of Serge Gainsbourg’s backing band in their calmer moments. A surreal release this one…
Alan Vega – Jukebox Babe
Jukebox Babe by former Suicide frontman Alan Vega hasn’t been in print since 1981, so this 7-inch slab of new wave synth-pop is a welcome addition to the Suicide pantheon.
Jettenbach – Somniphobia [Remixed]
It’s nice to indulge in a guilty pleasure on occasion. Growing up in Los Angeles, we were lucky enough to have a pretty good Industrial dance / EBM scene in the late 1980s and throughout the 1990s. The clubs were amazing, the girls stunning, the beats driving. Jettenbach brings some of these older bands of…
Yukihiro Takahashi – Saravah!
This album works on so many levels. There is a blend of Italian romance, easy listening, French chanson, sophisticated City Pop, bossa nova, a touch of schmaltz, and electro-pop all rolled into one fine album. Drummer Yukihiro Takahashi had just helped form the Yellow Magic Orchestra after leaving The Sadistic Mika Band at about the…
Doll Klaw – Thorns EP
As a more-or-less native Los Angeleno who grew up running around clubs in the late 1980s and early 1990s in clubs like Club F**k, DAS Bunker and the like, hearing synth-pop like this makes me feel a sense of nostalgia. Southern California-based Doll Klaw has all the hallmarks of a 1980s indie band – the…