I'll bet you find a new favourite song!
Sometimes, only sometimes, a song appears that immediately blasts your brain away, and you fall deeply in love with it. In this article I’m going to present you 12 epic Synth Pop songs you shouldn’t have missed if you are a true Synthpop music fan. Please keep in mind that this is an unordered list without any rating.
1. Mimicry – The Destination
And here we start with a song from the band Mimicry. "The Destination" is a lovely and naïve Synthpop song with a light footed melody on a good mid-tempo beat. The song was released in early 2012. Unfortunately they never released a full-length album. I know they had some EPs, but their official website and social channels are all down.
“Their aim – to produce perfectly mindblowing party music and to provoke emotions never felt before. Aggressive and arrogant, otherworldly and expressive, Mimicry fuses electroclash with psychedelic techno, ethnic beats and garage rock.” Extract from Mimicry´s biography.
Members:
Kene Vernik – Vocals
Jaanus Telvar – Vocals
Paul Lepasson – Producer
Timmo Linnas – Guitar
Watch the official music video The Destination by Mimicry
2. Ben Ivory – The Righteous Ones
"The Righteous Ones" is Ben Ivory's second single from the debut album Neon Cathedral, and official entry song for the German national finals for ESC 2013! Officially, this is a powerful, danceable queer song. Personally, I find this song has many more layers. From the lyrical point of view, it is more of a song about the unconditional acceptance of equality.
What I really love about this song is its light and catchy way, and once the chorus starts a dynamic, energetic beat drives the song to its peak. I rated the album Neon Cathedral with a 3.9 stars rating, because there are a plenty of other great songs on it. You can read the full track by track review here. Hopefully the sequel will be worthwhile.
Official Ben Ivory channels:
facebook.com/benivoryofficial
3en1vory.tumblr.com
Watch the official music video The Righteous Ones by Ben Ivory
3. Crystal Castles Feat. Robert Smith – Not In Love
"Not In Love" is a cover song originally produced by Platinum Blonde. Crystal Castles have adopted this song, completely modernized, and with Robert Smith's voice they produced a real club hit. The melancholic lyrics stands against the danceable beat, like the metaphorical "dancing with tears in my eyes".
Sadly they didn't release an offical music video for the song. At least they published a video with a still image on their official YouTube channel. Furthermore YouTube user Nanalew made a really good fan music video which you can check out here: Nanalew' fan video for Not In Love.
Watch the official music video Not In Love by Crystal Castles Feat. Robert Smith
4. Lowe – A 1000 Miles
The band Lowe has createda superb Synthpop hit with "A 1000 Miles". This track has the right tempo, a catchy melody, and the chorus is an easy sing-along. The song also provides some Electrorock elements with a cool electric guitar, without emphasizing it too much. It's still more Pop than Rock.
Wikipedia on the band: "Lowe is a Swedish synthpop band formed in 2002 by Leo Josefsson (vocals/guitar), Rickard Gunnarsson (bass) and Mehdi Bagherzadeh (keyboards). The music can be described as emotional pop, contrived with electronic elements. Their first three singles ”The Vanishing”, ”Ahead Of Our Time” and "Hear Me Out" quickly earned them the reputation as ”the new hope for Swedish pop”. The band has been compared to such artists as Depeche Mode, New Order, Keane and A‑ha.".
Official Lowe channels:
www.facebook.com/LoweMusic
www.twitter.com/lowemusic
Watch the official music video A 1000 Miles by Lowe
5. Pre/Verse – Trace Of Water
A debut with a deserved 4 star rating – this is Pre/Verse's album Obstacles. Originating from this album, "Trace Of Water" is only one of many earworms that make you want to dance immediately. However, the band members are no greenhorns. Some of them have gained experience with bands like Blutengel, Harmjoy, Tyske Ludder and Rotersand. The result is that spectacular debut album.
The meaning of Pre/Verse
The band`s name is a derivation of an urban slang word, describing a sinful or evil thought or feeling. Pre/Verse`s leitmotif is taking a snapshot of inner conflict, failure, the quest for the way or the way out. Catharsis. It is telling a story of unfulfilled longings and dreams as well as the burden of feeling obliged to find a compromise where none is permitted. Born in pain, but not necessarily intoned painfully. Five individuals having built a fragile cosmos of individuality and compromise. We are PRE/VERSE.
Official Pre/Verse channels:
www.preverse.net
www.facebook.com/preverse
www.twitter.com/preverse
Watch the official music video Trace Of Water by Pre/Verse
6. Aesthetic Perfection – Antibody
Aesthetic Perfection might not fit 100% into the Synthpop genre, actually it's something between Futurepop and Industrial. In my opinion Daniel Graves has produced a more danceable, and melodic song than ever before with "Antibody". Allthough the song "Inhuman" from the previous album is quite comparable, it doesn´t reach this new, catchy attitude.
Album Of The Year Award 2014
"Antibody" is the first single from the fourth album 'Til Death which became Electrozombies´ Album Of The Year in 2014. Like "Antibody" also all the other singles (Big Bad Wolf, The Dark Half, and The New Black) achieved a full 5 star rating. Definitely a must-have record!
Official Aesthetic Perfection channels
aesthetic-perfection.net
www.facebook.com/aestheticperfection
www.twitter.com/daniel_graves
www.youtube.com/user/xclosetohumanx
Watch the official music video Antibody by Aesthetic Perfection
7. Age Zero – Perfect Tragedy
From 'Aesthetic Perfection' to a 'Perfect Tragedy': Age Zero is Jan Weisbrod´s solo project who was the founder and singer of the Electrorock band Heavy-Current. This is probably the least accessible song on the list. But once you´ve gotten into it, you will find an incredible depth in the song that is rarely to be found. I also reviewed track by track the self titled 2013 album. With an overall rating of 4.25 stars it narrowly missed the first place of the Album Of The Year award. See the full track by track review here.
Official Age Zero channels
age-zero.com
www.facebook.com/AGEZEROofficial
www.twitter.com/AGEZERO
age-zero.tumblr.com
Watch the official music video Perfect Tragedy by Age Zero
8. Tying Tiffany – Lost Way
Tying Tiffany is an electronic music singer and songwriter, born in 1978 in Italy. She already released two full length albums before but somehow I missed these previous releases. "Lost Way" is taken from the 2010 album Peoples Temple; it does have some heavy guitars indeed, but I wouldn´t call it Electrorock. The tunes are harmonious and the sound is really dynamical.
In my opinion "Peoples Temple" is Tying Tiffany´s best album so far. The successors Dark Days, White Nights (2012) and Drop (2014) didn't catch me that intense as Peoples Temple did. I can only recommend this master piece. Additionaly the album was released in a remix edition with remix versions from Spiral69, XP8, You Love Her Cause She's Dead, and some more.
Official Tying Tiffany channels
www.tyingtiffany.com
www.facebook.com/tyingtiffanyofficial
www.twitter.com/tyingtiffany
www.youtube.com/user/tyingtiffanyy
tyingtiffany.tumblr.com
soundcloud.com/tyingtiffany
Watch the official music video Lost Way by Tying Tiffany
9. Solar Fake – More Than This
Solar Fake has by now become well-known and popular in the black electronic scene. When I first watched the music video of "More Than This", the band was far from being popular. So, I really felt I found something new and special. The song linked beautifully dark lyrics with a danceable uptempo beat. Back then, just like today, this song really impressed me. And what´s best: the guys from Solar Fake grow better and better.
"More Than This" is taken from their second album called Frontiers. Besides other great tracks there is also a gorgeous cover version of Talk Talk's "Such A Shame" on it. In the end I found a new favourite band through this wonderful song "More than this".
Official Solar Fake channels
solarfake.de
www.facebook.com/SolarFake
www.twitter.com/solarfake
Watch the official music video More Than This by Solar Fake
10. Jack Strify – Halo
When the band Cinema Bizarre took a creative break, Strify started a solo career as Jack Strify. And to be honest, I needed to do a research for this, because I never listened to Cinema Bizarre. Maybe I'll do someday, when I really have a lot of time.
Back to the main topic. "Halo (We're The Only One)" is a wonderful and a little cheesy love song. The whole arrangement fits homogeneously to the lyrics. Soft melodies, an angelic voice but it also offers enough pop factor for dancing.
Official Jack Strify channels
www.jackstrify.net
www.facebook.com/jackstrifyofficial
www.twitter.com/jackestrify
www.instagram.com/jackstrify
jackxstrify.tumblr.com
Watch the official music video Halo by Jack Strify
BONUS CONTENT! The following two bands are no typical Synth Pop bands as one might expect. Still, these songs are close enough to relate to the others.
11. Dúné – 80 Years
Dúné is no ordinary Synth Pop band. On the contrary, they create a mixture of Electrorock and Indietronic. During the past years, and the shrinking of the band of once 7 to only 3 members, the sound has unfortunately become less and less electronic, which I personally pity very much.
However, the song "80 Years" forms an exception because it is very electronic, intuitive and also a little naïve – just the way it should be for a young band, and that's what makes the song so amiable. The whole album "We Are In There You Are Out Here" as well as the following album "Enter Metropolis" are definitely worth listening to!
Official Dúné channels
dunesite.com
facebook.com/dunesite
twitter.com/dunesite
instagram.com/dunesite
Watch the official music video 80 Years by Dúné
12. Human Lynx – This Robotic Heart
Last but not least, and also the newest one in this list is a band from Sweden called Human Lynx. They simply define their music as electronic indie pop. For me, their music style is quite close to Synth Pop. The sound is very clear and crisp, not too minimalistic and not too overfilled. The voice is clearly in the foreground which focusses the lyrics. Unfortunately the band hasn´t released a full length album yet.
Official Human Lynx channels
www.humanlynx.com
www.facebook.com/HumanLynx
twitter.com/humanlynx
instagram.com/humanlynx
soundcloud.com/humanlynx
Watch the official music video This Robotic Heart by Human Lynx
Enjoy the whole playlist on Spotify
Did you enjoy this list? Found something new?
Please share your thoughts in the comments. If you think, I forgot something or you just want to suggest related other bands, feel invited to use the comment section below! Watch out for more lists coming soon.
The journey continues
Do you want to continue the discovery? Then checkout the following articles with a similar topic.