It’s time to listen to the new synthwave – the best music for long cold evenings

Synthwave began as nostalgia for the eighties crystallized in the form of music. Analog synthesizers, straight kick, pulse and atmosphere of a soundtrack from some “Terminator”. Today it is not just a pampering of millennials who miss childhood, but a whole trend in music, with its own subgenres and experiments.

But the warm spirit of the eighties in synthwave will always be strong. And this is great, because the cold has set in the street, and the synthwave perfectly saves from them: covering it with coziness, dispelling the darkness with neon flashes. I’ve picked ten great and very different synthwave full-lengths released in 2019. If you think that something is missing from the list, add to the list in the comments.

New Arcades – Returning Home

The classic representative of dreamwave, the mildest subgenre of synthwave. Many people consider it to be the “main” – such a default synthwave without any prefixes and impurities. Returning Home features dreamy melodies, soothing beats, vintage guitars, and sweet vocals. It is with such releases that it is best to enter the genre, so if you want to hook someone up – Returning Home to help.

It is difficult to single out any separate tracks on the album, but from the very first notes it generates an enveloping nostalgic atmosphere and hits right in the heart. To this kind of music, it is especially good to drive around the city at night, doze under a warm blanket, or go through a collection of vinyl.

Vector Seven – Dark Metropolis

Synthwave began as nostalgia for the eighties crystallized in the form of music. Analog synthesizers, straight kick, pulse and atmosphere of a soundtrack from some “Terminator”. Today it is not just a pampering of millennials who miss childhood, but a whole trend in music, with its own subgenres and experiments.

But the warm spirit of the eighties in synthwave will always be strong. And this is great, because the cold has set in the street, and the synthwave perfectly saves from them: covering it with coziness, dispelling the darkness with neon flashes. I’ve picked ten great and very different synthwave full-lengths released in 2019. If you think that something is missing from the list, add to the list in the comments.
New Arcades – Returning Home

The classic representative of dreamwave, the mildest subgenre of synthwave. Many people consider it to be the “main” – such a default synthwave without any prefixes and impurities. Returning Home features dreamy melodies, soothing beats, vintage guitars, and sweet vocals. It is with such releases that it is best to enter the genre, so if you want to hook someone up – Returning Home to help.

It is difficult to single out any separate tracks on the album, but from the very first notes it generates an enveloping nostalgic atmosphere and hits right in the heart. To this kind of music, it is especially good to drive around the city at night, doze under a warm blanket, or go through a collection of vinyl.

Vector Seven – Dark Metropolis

Dark Metropolis is already a darkwave, the opposite of Returning Home. A more energetic and darker variety of synthwave, often inspired by cyberpunk, horror, and even satanic aesthetics. The most famous in this genre are Perturbator and Carpenter Brut – you’ve probably heard them.

On Dark Metropolis, the atmosphere is already unfriendly, even spiteful – to such music either wrap yourself in a coat under neon lights, or imposingly dance in a nightclub from some action movie of the eighties. Or play Cyberpunk 2077: any song from the disc would be perfect for the game. In general, the title of the album perfectly conveys the essence. This music is not about saving from, but about embracing the winter blues – with the right soundtrack, it can be enjoyed too.