I’ve been doing more editions of The List with more frequency lately, because the gems keep coming. This time, I’m taking you through everything from kosmische and synthwave to indie and a jam-packed comp designed to help victims of government overreach in Minnesota. Let’s dive in.
Various Artists — Asylum Benefit Album Vol. 1
Minneapolis, its metropolitan area, and the State of Minnesota at-large are usually known domestically and internationally for their polite citizenry, lush natural resources, and music (Prince, Bob Dylan, The Replacements, Poliça, and more). Usually. Of course, as of late my hometown (well pretty much my home-neighborhood) is at the center of a violent federal occupation. Minnesota-based North Innsbruck, Droid Bishop, Chill Collins, Galaxy 80, and other musicians have gotten together to help out by using their considerable artistic skills. This 20-track benefit record is packed with synthwave, chillsynth, post-punk, and related genres, and 100% of the proceeds go to the Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota, a non-profit org dedicated to defending and advancing the rights of immigrants and refugees across the state. Go check it out on Bandcamp.
Endearments — “Summersun”
I know I just wrote about this band a couple years ago, but they’re really damn good. “Summer Sun” sounds a bit like Superdrag, if the latter were a contemporary act who really liked the 2010s. Frontman Kevin Marksson sings earnestly about the different personas we all feel like we have to take on in different social scenarios — over Anjali Nair’s memorable and fuzzy guitar riffage, Will Haywood Smith’s steady drum work, Marksson’s own commanding bass guitar, and a delicate array of colorful but polite synths. They do this all in a big, multi-layered indie number replete with proper mid-sections and expansive dynamics that nevertheless stay just tempered enough keep the song ever so slightly contemplative. Imagine this thing live!
The song is out now on your favorite streamers and Bandcamp via Trash Casual, which is releasing the band’s upcoming debut LP, An Always Open Door, on March 6 in vinyl and digital forms.
Daniel Deluxe — “Infamy”
Denmark-based darksynther Danny D is back with the sizzling “Infamy,” packing a sexy, cool, and brooding blast of cinematics. Notable for me are the sick synth bass, the fuzzy synth stabs, some slightly ecclesiastical backing choir vocals, and Tristan Zammit’s fantastic animated music video that embodies the song’s lust and violence. The track is available via your favorite streamers. You can also find it on Bandcamp. The video’s below, but it’s of course also on YouTube.
Soviet — “Situations”
Vehlinggo favorite Soviet, the project of Keith Ruggiero, is back with a truly compelling cover of German synthpop group Cetu Javu’s late 1980s hit song, “Situations.” In Soviet’s hands, the number retains its expansive synthy dance-floor charm, while infusing it with Ruggiero’s talent for musical narrative journey and big production. (Oh, and his vox are as perfectly cool and well performed as ever.) Snatch it up over at Bandcamp.
Macrowave — “Shattered”
French synthwaver Macrowave’s “Shattered” is a rewarding adventure laced with galactic wonder and cinematic emotion. The relentless synth arps in the wrong hands could turn off a listener, but here they shine. The tempered drum machine pairs well with the sense of foreboding coming off the dark synth strings and pads. There is a pronounced “score-for-a-film-not-yet-made” vibe and I’m here for it. It’s out now on the streamers.
Artax One — “In the Depths of the Sea”
The Italian composer Artax One’s demonstrably kosmische “In the Depths of the Sea” is a gem of proggy synth splendor straight out of the 1970s, and hails from the recently released EP Sky, Sea and Land. It’s very easy for people to peg everything synthy to some point in the ’80s, but some of the best synth and electronic music came out in the ’70s: Tangerine Dream, Klaus Schulze, and many others helped to define the sonics and parameters of a given synth score you would hear in the years thereafter. Artax’s general theme is the expanses of Earth, with its towering heavens, deep seas, and robust rolling meadows, and on this and the other cuts he definitely succeeds at cultivating that theme.
(Here are all of the other editions of The List and its popular predecessor, One-Liners. )
