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10 Key Tracks From the British Synthpop Boom of 1980
It's 40 years since the first explosion of electronic songs revitalized the UK charts with futuristic subject matter, DIY aesthetics, and occasionally pompous lyrics. To celebrate, here's a chronological list of those Moog-infused tracks of 1980 that had the biggest impact.
26 May 2020
Music
The 1975's 'Notes on a Conditional Form' Is Laudably Thought-Provoking and Thrilling
The 1975 follow A Brief Inquiry... with an even more intriguing, sprawling, and chameleonic song suite. Notes on a Conditional Form shows a level of unquenchable ambition, creativity, and outspoken curiosity that's rarely felt in popular music today.
22 May 2020
Music
Electropop's Sarah Walk Celebrates Queer Identity With "What Do I Want?" (premiere)
Pop's Sarah Walk moves in an electropop direction with her latest single "What Do I Want?". It's part of a new album that tackles the difficult issues nearly all women face in patriarchal societies, especially queer women.
21 May 2020
Music
Brits in Hot Weather Presents: Empathy Test
London's Empathy Test are preparing to release their stunning new album, Monsters, a richly textured, cinematic record that wraps melancholy in a darkly catchy synthpop blanket. Get to know the band in-depth in this new interview.
20 May 2020
Reviews
Sparks Still Ignite with 'A Steady Drip, Drip, Drip'
After nearly 50 years and two dozen albums, Sparks continue their reign of resonantly quirky art pop-rock delights on A Steady Drip, Drip, Drip.
08 May 2020
Music
Half Waif's 'The Caretaker' Is a Small Art Pop Treasure
Half Waif's second album, The Caretaker, takes a microscope and a scalpel to the mysteries and wonders of the quotidian, to great effect.
29 Apr 2020
Music
Chaos Chaos Get Atmospheric and Emotional on "Capital T" (premiere)
Sister duo Chaos Chaos, formerly of Smoosh, deliver their latest single, "Capital T". "Dogs hate it, but hopefully people will love it."
22 Apr 2020
Music
40 Years of Finely Tuned Nonsense: An Interview with Severed Heads
At Severed Heads' third-last show in New York, after decades of playing electronic, art-pop, Tom Ellard swung a noose around his band's head and, with an imitable grin, slowly pulled tighter. After 40 years, Severed Heads is done, and Ellard muses on his long career.
22 Apr 2020
Music
Empathy Test's "Monsters" Highlights Their Haunting Electropop (premiere)
The first taste of Empathy Test's forthcoming album is both thrillingly expansive and unnervingly claustrophobic. "Monsters" sounds absolutely enormous.
22 Apr 2020
Music
'WOMB' Reclaims Purity Ring's Distinctive Electropop
Although Purity Ring's WOMB never stops sounding good, the bops came easier in 2012. WOMB is an effortful return to form for the electropop duo.
21 Apr 2020
Music
Meet Malawi's Katawa Singers via the Retrospective 'Ufulu 1991-1997'
The electro-gospel choir, Katawa Singers, are legendary in their native Malawi, and the retrospective Ufulu 1991-1997 helps show why.
16 Apr 2020
Music
Dua Lipa - "Break My Heart" (Singles Going Steady)
Dua Lipa knows that what makes a diva special is her willingness to feel. She emotes for the rest of us on "Break My Heart".
13 Apr 2020
Music
Electropop's CMON Feel the Noise on 'Confusing Mix of Nations'
Pop duo CMON mix and match contemporary and retro influences to craft the dark dance-pop on Confusing Mix of Nations.
09 Apr 2020
Music
The Weeknd - "In Your Eyes" (Singles Going Steady)
With "In Your Eyes", Toronto's premier Michael Jackson cosplayer, the Weeknd, has advanced his visual brand while parking his music in the summer of 1984.
30 Mar 2020
Music
Dua Lipa's 'Future Nostalgia' Is the Dance Escape We Need Right Now
Engaged, confident, and better than ever, Dua Lipa's Future Nostalgia is a dancefloor fire-starter but just a shade away from being a true pop masterpiece.
30 Mar 2020
Music
The Weeknd Gets Lost in Vegas on 'After Hours'
Despite After Hours' infectious blend of '80s synthpop and dark, alternative R&B, the story's beginning to get old on the Weeknd's fourth studio album.
27 Mar 2020
Music
Dua Lipa Makes Kitschy Cool on 'Future Nostalgia'
Dua Lipa's Future Nostalgia is near immaculate meta-pop that refuses to forego tight songwriting for nostalgic bells and whistles, helmed by a singer is exponentially more aware of what she's capable of.
27 Mar 2020
Music
The Weeknd's 'After Hours' Sets Cinematic Vignettes of Hollywood and Las Vegas Nights
The Weeknd's After Hours naturally weaves together cinematic vignettes of debauched Hollywood and Las Vegas nights, following a new filmic tie to Uncut Gems and a prior decade of character building.
26 Mar 2020
Music
Electropop's Bizou Blend the Bleak and Beautiful on "Crashing Sky" (premiere)
Bizou features former and current members of Light FM, Smashing Pumpkins and Glaare. New single "Crashing Sky" reflects their penchant for pop and darkwave.
25 Mar 2020
Music
Flume feat. Toro y Moi - "The Difference" (Singles Going Steady)
Flume and Toro y Moi team up for a tasty slice of electropop on "The Difference". For its brevity, this track has a lot to say.
24 Mar 2020
Music
Austra – "Anywayz" (Singles Going Steady)
Austra's "Anywayz" is a musical exploration of the fear associated with leaving someone and the even more frightening realization that life continues. It's also stunningly gorgeous.
20 Mar 2020
Music
Sam Sparro's 'Boombox Eternal' Is the Melodic Throwback We Need Right Now
Sam Sparro's Boombox Eternal is Jam & Lewis, Nile Rodgers, and Quincy Jones all nodding in unison. It is Day-Glo colors and endless mists of hairspray.
Evan Sawdey
20 Mar 2020
Music
Doctor Fluorescent's Debut Is a Relaxing Retro Synth Ride
Doctor Fluorescent's debut album is a chill piece of songcraft steeped in vintage synths and other retro electronic sounds.
19 Mar 2020
Music
Grimes - "Idoru" (Singles Going Steady)
Creative, existential bondage for the sleep-deprived, Grimes' "Idoru" is better than any hallucination Titanic Sinclair could dream up for Poppy this week.
09 Mar 2020
Music
Cubicolor's 'Hardly a Day, Hardly a Night' Is a Richly Drawn Work of Electropop
Cubicolor's meticulously crafted soundscapes morph from plaintive electronic pieces into uplifting dance tracks in the space of a single song. Hardly a Day, Hardly a Night is a richly drawn, triumphant record.
04 Mar 2020
Music
Dan Deacon - "Fell Into the Ocean" (Singles Going Steady)
On "Fell Into the Ocean", Baltimore electropop producer Dan Deacon teaches us that you can make anything a fortune cookie if you try hard enough.
03 Mar 2020
Music
I Just Want to Make That Sad Boy Smile: An Interview with Kleerup
Former Robyn producer Kleerup dropped a lovely solo debut in 2008 then largely disappeared before deciding to come back over a decade later. What happened to him in the intervening years? "Actually, I died twice but got sent back," he tells us.
03 Mar 2020
Music
Half Waif - "Halogen 2" (Singles Going Steady)
Slight but urgent, Half Waif's "Halogen 2" offers a beautiful build and perfectly-pitched multi-tracked fifth-harmonies.
02 Mar 2020
Music
Love You Later Seriously "Making Plans" As an Artist to Embrace (premiere + interview)
Reinventing herself as Love You Later, Lexi Aviles is a Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter who came up with the idea after seeing the Japanese House perform. On her new single and music video, she gets to the heart of the matter.
27 Feb 2020
Music
Grimes' 'Miss Anthropocene' Watches the World Go Out With a Whimper
Ironically, you may wind up wishing that Grimes' vision of a scorched Earth was a bit more fun.
24 Feb 2020
Music
Boniface's Debut Album Is a Complex, Deeply Personal Pop Masterpiece
Boniface unleash their debut album, a sophisticated coming-of-age statement, full of irresistible pop hooks and rhythms.
12 Feb 2020
Music
La Roux Returns Without 'Supervision'
La Roux's Supervision is a testament to propelling forward, even if its sounds take you backward, and knowing that good synthpop will never go out of style.
10 Feb 2020
Music
Dan Deacon Creates Shimmering, Welcoming Electropop on 'Mystic Familiar'
Mystic Familiar keeps Dan Deacon's signature musical appeal while utilizing a few new tools. The album delivers on the camaraderie and musicianship you expect from the Baltimore producer.
04 Feb 2020
Music
Mint Julep Serve Up Luminous Synthpop with 'Stray Fantasies'
Husband and wife duo, Mint Julep take a break from their respective solo projects and release a collection of smart, danceable earworms, Stray Fantasies.
30 Jan 2020
Music
Pet Shop Boys Deliver Another Glorious, Smart, and Relevant Pop Album with 'Hotspot'
Four decades in the music business is no small feat, and yet the Pet Shop Boys enter the new decade sounding just as current and catchy as the pop landscape they helped construct.
24 Jan 2020
Music
Holy Fuck Morph Into an Electropop/House Group on 'Deleter'
On Deleter, Holy Fuck have enthusiastically thrown themselves into the kaleidoscopic world of the early 1990s house scene while adding a few footnotes using their particular musical vocabulary.
15 Jan 2020
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