Month: May 2021

I’ve heard people refer to the darker side of synthwave as “darkwave.” The name makes intuitive sense – take synthwave, make it darker, end up with darkwave. Problem is, darkwave already refers to a style of music, one that’s been around since the early 1980s. Basically, take New Wave, make it darker, end up with darkwave. (Or you could think of it as a fusion of goth and New Wave.) The darker side of synthwave is more properly referred to as darksynth.

Muddying the waters, one of darksynth’s pioneers and most celebrated practitioners, Perturbator (aka James Kent), has just released an album that’s heavily indebted to ’80s darkwave and other descendants of post-punk. He’s not the first one to do this – there’s an active scene within and bordering on synthwave, which includes bands like Drab Majesty and (my friends) Vandal Moon and Czarina. But Lustful Sacraments doesn’t really sound like anything else I’ve heard.

Really the album feels both like a departure and a natural extension of Kent’s previous work. His early work had a distinct cyberpunk vibe, which then shifted toward the synth/metal hybrid sound that has come to define darksynth. Kent was one of the biggest and most accomplished practitioners of the style, but at the very height of the sound’s popularity, he shifted directions and released the industrial-influenced album New Model. I found it interesting and very sophisticated from a production standpoint, but it didn’t quite resonate with me.

Lustful Sacraments is different – I’ve always had a passion for dark ’80s music, so this is very much in my personal wheelhouse. And Lustful Sacraments, to me, is the most retro-sounding album Kent has released since 2014’s Dangerous Days. It’s just retro in a way most synthwave isn’t.

What I most admire about Kent is how subtly daring he can be with arrangements. Most pop/rock and dance music is formulaic, albeit in different ways (a distinction I’ve written about previously). This is because the formulas are highly functional in the sense that they both satisfy listener expectations and make life easier for the artist. But Kent’s songs typically eschew the tropes of traditional part- or pattern-based arrangements. They often build and release tension in unexpected ways, and include little flourishes that aren’t intuitive for the average producer (or even the above-average producer). I’ve always found these moments thrilling, and they are especially so on this album.

Bottom line, Lustful Sacraments is a bold and unique offering that doesn’t really sound or feel like synthwave or darksynth but still feels connected to earlier Perturbator material. Highly recommended.

You can purchase the album here:

Shawn Ward, aka FM Attack, just released The Never Ending. In a recent interview with Vehlinggo, Shawn stated that this will be the last FM Attack record. It is a fitting end to a stellar career in synthwave – as both one of the style’s early innovators and consistently excellent practitioners.

Rather than review the album (spoiler alert: I love it), I want to tell you what FM Attack’s music has meant to be over the years, and why The Never Ending is such a bittersweet moment.

I came to synthwave fairly late in the game. My background as a musician is in techno and indie rock, but I’ve always had a soft spot for ’80s pop music and retrofuturism. In the ’00s I tried making what I now recognize as an attempt to make synthwave – a mix of techno, chiptune and ’80s analog synth tones. But it never went anywhere. That said, when I did discover synthwave, several years later, you could say I was primed to love it. And I did – it felt like this was the kind of music I was always destined for, as both listener and producer.

One of the first artists I discovered was FM Attack. “Hot Girls in Love,” from Dreamatic (2009), had immediate appeal, with its energetic dance beats and catchy vocoder chorus.

The one-two punch of “With You Tonight” and “Magic,” from Deja Vu (2013) showed me what synthwave could do when untethered from its dance music roots. These are stellar pop songs, among the best ever written in the genre.

Since then I’ve bought every album FM Attack has put out, and blasted them on repeat for weeks after each purchase. FM Attack is one of the rare artists where I like almost every song in the discography, and only rarely skip ahead from one track to another. The melodies are catchy, the synths lush and dreamy, the arrangements tight and the production top notch. I’ve enjoyed the incorporation of post-punk and dreampop elements into his more recent work, and especially enjoyed his collaborations with Vandal Moon, who I also had the pleasure of collaborating with on “Stars That Fade” (and more, as you will soon find out).

Though my music doesn’t really sound like his, philosophically I’ve always seen FM Attack as a fellow traveler. When I listen to his music, I hear many of the same influences – from dance music to shoegaze – that I’ve always felt marked me as a bit outside the synthwave mainstream. I hear someone pushing the genre in the directions I want it to go.

So the release of The Never Ending is a bittersweet moment for me. It’s a great album – showcasing that unmistakable sound but with a number of key innovations. “So Blue” is probably my favorite track, which recalls the SF-based indie band Film School.

Meanwhile, the dance music edge that attracted me to Dreamatic all those years ago is back in full force on songs like “Hypnotize.” As I said above, it’s a fitting end for a stellar career.

…and that’s why it’s bittersweet. Never say never, I guess, but I don’t expect we’ll get another FM Attack album. The Never Ending really does feel like a bookend, so I’m just glad I could be along for the ride. My only regret is that I never got to see him perform.

I am thrilled to announce that my 3^rd full length album, Wanderers, will be released on NRW Records this summer. Four years in the making, Wanderers is both an evolution of my previous work and unlike anything you’ve heard from me. It comprises 5 vocal and 6 instrumental tracks – ranging from dark and moody to dreamy and hopeful – and features a host of talented guest appearences. Wanderers will be available on all formats via the NRW Records Bandcamp store and on all major digital stores/streaming services. Release date forthcoming. 

I’d also like to take this opportunity to thank all of the people who have supported and believed in my music over the years, and especially DJ Ten – who has featured several of my songs on NRW’s YouTube channel. 

I’d also like to thank Timeslave Recordings, who released Postcards from LA (2017), Cosmopolis (2017) and Concrete Island (2018). I would not be the musician I am today if not for the opportunity they gave me. And for those who (rightly) love the label, this is not the end of my relationship with TSR. More on that to come as well…