Synthwave Essentials: Outrun

Outrun 

I think some consider this to be the “core” of the synthwave genre: juiced-up 80s style electro that brings to mind big sunglasses and fast cars. I was expecting some good albums in this section and it didn't disappoint.

Kavinsky: Outrun 

This is one of the landmark albums in this genre, inspired by the 80s car racing video game of the same name, and that gave its name to this sub-genre. There’s a bit of a story running through the album, about a kid who crashes a sports car and comes back as a zombie music producer or something. Is it any good? Certainly. The production is definitely a cut above the typical grade here. Kavinsky knows his stuff and it shows. The album is fun to listen to, with a few catchy licks. There’s nothing super emotional or new here but it’s hard not to be impressed by someone who really caught hold of a zeitgeist and weaved together some sounds exceptionally well. Kavinsky deserves to be seen as one of the best around. 

Rating: 8.5/10 

Lazerhawk: Redline 

(This was also listed in the “Early Synthwave section”, so I’ll just repeat my review). 

Wow, this is great stuff. Lazerhawk is some producer from Texas, and he knows what he is going. This is pure classic synthwave, done exceptionally well. It is basically like Perterbator but not quite as good. But being almost as good as the best synthwave artist in the world is no mean feat. This album makes me want to jump into an impractically-sized overprice sports car and drive at dangeorus speeds down Miami freeways, being pursued by robot police cars. Love it! My only criticism is that the second half of the album is less exciting than the first half. 

Rating: 8/10 

Miami Nights 1984: Turbulence 

This is not the first time we’ve come across MIami Nights 1984 – their earlier EP was reviewed in the Early Synthwave section. This is their followup album, Turbulence. It’s quite a bit better than their first release – and thus a little disappointing that haven’t done any further releases. This just does what it says on the tin: catchy 80s synthwave tunes that aren’t amazing but are well executed. This makes good background music for working or exercising. 

Rating: 7/10 

Lost Years: Black Waves 

Discogs.com tells me that Lost Years is a solo project of some Swedish guy, who’s done a few albums. Lost Years has a bit of a dark / noir / cyberpunk feel to it, which as a big industrial fan, I really like. I would have liked it even darker, but it’s still pretty cool and he has a gritty urban feel I like. There is definitely potential here – I had a quick listen to some of his later releases, and you can see that potential grow and become something pretty great. This is one of the better artists out there. 

Rating: 7.5/10 

Night Runner: Starfighter 

I don’t know much at all about this group. They seem to be from Mexico. What is clear however is that they make great synthwave music! This is a notably powerful album that has a very soundtrack feel to it (though it’s not ambient or background music at all). I could really see this working as the backdrop to one of those great 80s sci-fi / action movies we all love.  Nuclear Countdown is the standout track. A shame that Night Runner only did two albums; I will definitely check out the second one. 

Rating: 8/10 

Robert Parker: Crystal City 

This is some guy from Sweden, making pretty standard off-the-shelf synthwave. It’s well produced and has a couple of catchy tunes, but I wasn’t blown away by it. I would probably recommend it for people who are coming into Synthwave from some of the more commercial regions of electronic music, like House or Techno. I might check out his later albums if I get time, but it’s not a priority. 

Rating: 6/10 

Meteor: Inner Demon 

I don’t really know anything Meteor. This album is ok. It has a bit of a sci-fi / horror movie soundtrack vibe that I kind of like, and they thrown in some guitars here and there, which I kind of like. I didn’t find myself really wanting to revisit it or explore other releases though. So it’s a “not bad but not great” one for me. 

Rating: 6/10 

Betamaxx: Interface 

This is an interesting one. I initially liked the dark noir / cyberpunk feel some of these tracks had, but didn’t like the production. Then I listened to it on a different sound system, and it sounded worlds apart. I’ve given it a further listen and quite like it. There is definitely talent here. I will check out Betamaxx’s later releases to see if he improved, but for now, I give this a thumbs up. 

Rating: 7/10 

VHS Dreams: Trans Am 

This is just very generic cookie-cutter synthwave. There is nothing new or exciting to be had and the production is pretty ordinary, to be honest. There is lots of familiar synth and drum machine presets. I can’t recommend this one at all. 

Rating: 3/10 

Arcarde High: Pixel Passion 

This is a bit of an odd album, because it’s not really synthwave, it’s more chiptune. If you’ve never heard it, it’s a genre of electronic music inspired by 80s computer game music, especially those made for the Commodore 64 with its famous SID chip. This is a decent chiptune album, though I can’t say I was particularly excited by anything here. But if you’re curious about chiptune, this album could be a reasonable place to start. 

Rating: 6/10 

Scattle: Timelapse 

Much like the Arcade High album (see above), this is an album that I don’t think really belongs in this list. It’s basically an “electronica” album, like many of thousands that get released every year. It was ok but didn’t much of an impact at all on me, so I would probably skip it. 

Rating: 5/10 

Tokyo Rose: The Chase: Last Run 

I don’t know much about Tokyo Rose. They don’t seem to have a huge internet presence. They’ve done mainly collaboration albums, but this is one of their own studio albums from 2017. And it’s a banger! Big, dark, mean, heavy synthwave, just how I like it. It sits in a similar style to the Night Runner album reviewed above. There isn’t anything super original going on here but there doesn’t need to be. It’s just synthwave done really well. Check this one out. 

Rating: 8/10 

Pylot: Shadowtask 

Pylot is an artist from the UK who seems to put out lots and lots of singles and EPs – not a single studio album according to Spotiy and Discogs. Oh well. Anyway, Shadowtask is actually pretty damn good – fun energetic synthwave, with a smattering of guitars, and a nice cyberpunk feel. I listened to a few other singles and they sounded pretty good too. Hopefully one day Pylot will collect a bunch of good tracks that work well together and release an album. 

Rating: 7.5/10 

Wolf and Raven: Renegades 

This act is apparently two brothers from Missouri. I quite like the style of their music and artwork: it’s pretty fun and catchy stuff, firmly rooted in action movie and video game culture. The music isn’t super memorable or interesting but it’s catchy and works well for something to listen to while working or working out.  The Heist and On the Run are standout tracks. Worth checking out. 

Rating: 7/10