Synth Single Review: “Oceans” by Sea Of Signs & Timesloth

by Karl Magi

Sea Of Signs & Timesloth’s “Oceans” transmits the beauty and quiet power of a blue-water day. The track comes to life as oceanic waves splash and a rising synth spreads with sacred peace. The low end has a steady heartbeat, huge and full of intense power, while the track glides out into an open-sounding, calming tide. The lead synth is ethereal and full of tranquility as it moves like blue waters with deep currents, eddying and flowing with worshipful strength.

A string-like synth trembles with echoing notes that create aquatic stillness, touching me with a mixture of melancholy and meditative, balmy emotion. Giant percussion heaves while the raised notes continue to drift with smooth relaxation. A luscious guitar carries a wandering melody full of utter calm while reverberant notes around it tremble with luminosity, like sunlight glinting from the ocean on a peaceful day.

I enjoy the way in which the track continues to grow and move with a melody that is loving and tender, reflecting all of the serenity the ocean provides.

Nicolas Rixon - Nicky Go Home

Review by Karl Magi

Overall Album Impressions

Nicolas Rixon’s “Nicky Go Home" is a lyrical and emotional journey that travels through a wonderfully listenable mixture of musical energies and eras. The way in which Nicolas Rixon combines his superb vocal performances with thoughtful, intriguing songwriting and musical backing that draws influences from disco, Broadway and Motown with stops along the way for new wave synth-pop, creates music that is full of life and passion as the album unfolds.

Without Nicolas Rixon's flexible, emotive voice, “Nicky Go Home" wouldn't be as intensely enjoyable as it is. His performances range from sensitive gentleness to absolutely vibrant joy as he roams across the musical landscape he’s created. His voice can be calming and smooth or exploding with excitement and all of these different moods are adapted to suit his songs with excellent results.

Another crucial aspect of “Nicky Go Home" is the songwriting itself. Nicolas Rixon writes songs that are moving, fascinating and occasionally enigmatic. His writing is confident and full of first-rate images and expressive wording. I enjoy the way in which he explores love, loss and life with the unique written voice that he possesses. I also want to mention how much I enjoy his inclusion of some classics from the Great American Songbook, given his fresh interpretations.

The music that backs his writing and singing is full of nods to a plethora of different genres and eras. I'm particularly enamored of the overall disco feeling that fills the album, but I also appreciate the way Broadway show tunes are woven together with Motown vibes and a large dash of soul music. The musicianship is first-rate which, when combined with the melodies that Nicolas Rixon has written, results in tunes that are hard to put down because of the compulsive listenability created by the mixture of sounds within them.

My Favourite Tracks Analyzed

“Nicky Go Home” leaps into life with a jaunty drum beat and a pop-inflected synth that bounces in energetic motion. A disco beat creates a swinging feeling as Nicolas Rixon’s voice slides sensually while the guitar intertwines with a groovy flicker. The chorus is infectious as the low end makes my hips swing and the incredibly catchy lyrics capture a playful vibe.

I enjoy the bounce and swagger of the vocals while a twangy synth creates a chilled-out, retro vibe and the strings add their own joyful sensations. The lyrics are carried by Nicolas Rixon’s distinctive performance and joined by a guitar that flies upward with iridescent energy. The melody spills out uplifting feelings as it calls out on a soaring guitar while the groovy underlayer closes the song.

“I remember the times I couldn't look in the mirror, with my eyes drawn wide, everything the same colour.” Our narrator isn't saying that it won't happen again, but what that “it” was, well, it definitely wasn't. He follows this up by telling himself to go home.

While the storyteller is being pursued, he becomes the pursuer and “both shaken and stirred, I dive to the rock bed.” He adds, “Bottoms up! Cin cin!” pointing out that a mouthful of “Doctor Says Vitamin Sea” is better than vodka.

“Now I have a job to do before it's made redundant”, as our narrator says his engine roars up against the hillside. He continues by saying, “Blow by blow out your candle,” wishing himself a happy birthday as he can feel “my cells, my neurons try to make new paths into the future.”

Under those circumstances, the storyteller concludes that’s when “I can't sleep for fear of a feeling,” as he decides that it's better to leave it up to time to say goodbye, then.

Melancholy chimes sing with a wistful melody and a trumpet line explodes with brilliant energy as “Magic” opens. The brass section cries out with a disco feeling while the pumping low end and tambourine create a late ’70s sensation. Nicolas Rixon’s voice is exuberant and expressive while the guitar flickers and the underpinnings press forward with dynamic strength. The way in which the chiming notes and the guitar intertwine creates a leaping and speedy melodic line while the soulful performance carries the chorus along.

I enjoy the way in which the track unfolds with its mixture of different retro eras while the guitar interlocks with a synth in luminous joy. Chimes sparkle while the actively skipping drums move and the chorus cascades with enchanting, seductive energy. The classic underlayer creates a steady heartbeat while glimmering chimes cry out with unabashed excitement and the guitar leaps again along with the erupting chorus before the track slides to an end.

“Bad luck is a red line, there's no other way of going back,” and the narrator says that people tell him he imagines the things that he feels, so “don't become a target.” He adds that when he touches, “the cracks appear upon the only door into the world,” as he sees his future, standing on uneven terrain, before tumbling into the abyss.

“Tell me a secret over again” is what our storyteller requests of the song’s subject before asking them to “give me your potion, kiss me a spell.” He goes on to say that it's magic. He continues, “Good luck is a lifeline, losing fingernails in ebony,” while pointing out that he has the look of Dorian Gray “when my smile’s a picture.”

In conclusion, the narrator asks, “Cut me, do I not bleed like a rubber tree?” He goes on to say, “When I forgive you, don't bounce my better nature against your wall, ’cause I may not come back at all.”

“You Don’t Owe Me” commences as the song settles into a laid-back groove. Lambent trumpets move with a bluesy guitar, singing out with a punchy dynamism while Nicolas Rixon’s captivatingly earnest performance carries a soulful depth. Percussion slides while the swirling brass blurs with jazzy luminosity. 

As the chorus erupts, Nicolas Rixon punches the vocals with conviction and force while the guitar locks into a calming pattern. A radiant synth glows while the tambourine adds a Motown feeling as the guitar intertwines. I enjoy the way in which Nicolas Rixon dives into this song and carries me along with emotion. The song ends as the horns pulse with coruscating brightness and the percussion fades away.

Finding that “when you're little in your life, things get confused,” our storyteller says he didn’t realize his heart would get badly used, whatever he says or does. He adds that the song’s subject is “in the same boat, going nowhere,” so his heart starts to sing that “you don't owe me here, you don't owe me there, you don't owe me anything at all,” nor does the other person owe him life or death.

The narrator adds that “by that very same token I withdrew from the cave all alone into the blue.” Whatever he did and wherever he went with the song’s subject, “what I was seeing, well it wasn't true,” as the birds start to say and the narrator concludes, “do what you do to survive, do what you can if you can.”

“Mystic Blue” begins after an elevated, trembling introduction flies into a dynamic disco beat. The guitar has a gritty energy as the bass creates a funky rhythm and the drums snap cleanly. The piano and strings intermingle with sugary warmth while Nicolas Rixon's softly slipping voice enfolds the music with feeling and affection.

The low end cruises with a disco boogie while the guitar cuts cleanly, radiant and energetic. After a string hit, the underpinnings flow on and the drums pop with sharp strength. Minor-key strings slide with silken gentleness while the dance-floor-filling underlayer moves forward.

Sensations of loss and hope mingle in Nicolas Rixon's ear-pleasing vocals while the guitar and elevated synth radiate laid-back luminosity. I enjoy the accents of the guitar and the synth as it leaps with inspiring emotion. The interlocking rhythm and strings create touching sensations while the groovy drums and bass continue to move forward. The strings intermingle with a sweet feeling and the song ends.

Resolving that he'll never say goodbye, the narrator speaks of a “feeling that lingers in the air like a perfume” or yesterday’s flowers sitting on a shelf and “blooming for us under bright days.” With their final breath, their hearts have become twin flames, “reflecting the double-light of both our souls.” They are like fraternal twins with “the burning torches of our mirrored sins.”

Our storyteller says “tonight is made of mystic, a final flash from me and you” in mystic blue. Although they've said goodbye, he'll still be crying out for the song’s subject. He repeats that he'll never say goodbye and adds, “when I leave, I will leave the door ajar,” because there's an angel coming to bring them “faith and joy.” He says that angel has “come to reclaim the broken mirrors and the dying flames.”

Now the narrator pictures the other person hiking down a mountain “in a moment with somebody else.” He hears the person speak in their usual voice, but they don't sound like themselves any longer. “You crumble with the revelation, another god comes crashing down,” and he goes on to say he'd love to see the ruins because “it’s there our Moses would drown.”

When he and the song’s subject can't talk any longer, he says, “I will write down the things I cannot say,” because all of the emotions created something like a pearl and his heart is “a message in a bottle to the world.”

A melody that twirls with a certain haunted grace, along with a throbbing drum beat, starts off “Eternal Secret.” A whirling melody is supported by a loping beat and piano that dances with Nicolas Rixon's gripping voice and a tambourine adds another swinging element as the guitar and synth slice with sharp edges. Nicolas Rixon's performance is gutsy while a crazily swaying melody bursts with glittering light. The way in which Nicolas Rixon delivers his vocals is fresh and fun.

The underpinnings add guidance as soaring vocals climb up over the razor-sharp guitar and a synth shines. The piano carries a melody full of wistful and broken feeling while the vocals glide with ghostly sensations and the piano continues to shine along with radiant strings. As the song ends, the tambourine, along with the drums and bass, continues to swirl before the track closes with the cleanly slicing melody spiraling into silence.

Our narrator sees a man through the trees who is 21 or 22 and he says, “he's younger than me, but I follow him because I'm blue.” He asks to be taken away from the beech trees and says, “come to open my arms into a cross.” The narrator adds that “he's naturally a mystery, I'll never forget him, but fuck city lights!” He knows that “the hill and the thorn are my home.”

Time has passed and now the storyteller sees “a man in the street of 31 or 32” who is younger than him and they walk together because the storyteller is blue. He wants to be taken away from the taxis and adds, “come to open my arms into the past.” The other person is “empirical, a miracle,” and the storyteller will never forget him. He says, “to hell with city lights! The yes and the no are my home.”

To conclude, our narrator says, “it was escape in reverse, it was a reverse in escape. I was carrying something eternal, something I never thought I could show.”

“I Wanna Be Loved By You” starts with a piano melody full of exuberance and Nicolas Rixon captures the joyful essence of the song. I enjoy the insouciant, saucy quality of Nicolas Rixon's voice and the jazz guitar soaring with uplifting energy. Nicolas Rixon has a teasing and fun-loving approach to the performance which is addictive.

The campy way in which it is performed is charming and enjoyable while the piano speeds up with an accelerating beat and excitement spills from the music. Vivacious energy erupts from the guitar as the rhythm rushes and the track takes on a more modern groove. The track comes to an end with a total sense of celebration and affection.

The storyteller wants to be loved and kissed by the song’s subject and no one else. He’s chasing intimacy and devotion with sincere whimsy. Despite the lighthearted tone, nothing matters more than being with the other person and making them their own.

A slow-burning groove moves with muscled bass and a tinkling note pattern as the jazz organ carries a bittersweet melody to begin “Rupture in the Mirror.” Nicolas Rixon's performance is dramatic and full of shadow and sublimated rage while the disco underlayer creates a supporting pulse. Nicolas Rixon's flexible voice takes hold of the vocals, imbuing them with anger and a realization that came too late in a way that I find impressive.

The strings slip with caressing energy while a foundational heartbeat grooves. The guitar lacerates while Nicolas Rixon's voice has a cutting quality. The way in which the low end pumps contrasts with the enigmatic organ melody. A laser-like synth sings out, refulgent and full of unsettled emotion.

Underneath, the groove rides in the pocket while the vocals rise with piercing strength. The guitar curls through the music with expressive intensity and the song ends.

After having seen another face in his mirror, the narrator finds himself alone because his other persona is so “fucking jealous” that he should have known. The other persona attempts to tell him that they don’t want to fight, “when how you're treating me, we know it's not right.”

Poised to hate our storyteller, one of his alter egos waits “for one false move,” as our storyteller adds that “when my mother died, you were all so unkind.” He realizes that he wouldn’t have taken that path if he’d had a map, adding that “I gotta navigate the future while I'm caught up in the past.”

Aware of the power of what he faces, he understands that “it often rides with love, but when the stakes are high, they really drip with blood.”

“Moon River” opens with an exuberant disco beat and strings dancing with pleasure and happiness. The guitar pulses as Nicolas Rixon captures the sweetness of the original while the strings gleam with uplifting light. I find the classic disco sounds ear-pleasing while the track bursts with positivity and encouragement. 

Nicolas Rixon's performance is enchanting while the actively guiding percussion moves with the strings that unfold with graceful emotion. The disco feeling suits the music while the timeless melody fills the song with a sense of completion and the vocals slip with gentle emotion.  The locked-in low end has a steady throb while the string section caresses my ears with wonderful warmth and the track dances to a close with active percussion pulsing.

The song follows two kindred spirits drifting through life together, chasing dreams and possibilities, united by wanderlust. Our storyteller has a quiet hope to move forward with his companion toward an unknown but beautiful future.

Conclusion

“Nicky Go Home” is full of vibrant energy, marvelous vocal performances and songwriting that explores all of the complexities of being oneself in a messy world. I enjoy this album because it draws me into Nicolas Rixon's world in an individual and dynamic way.

ANNIEE - Don’t Miss The Moon

Written by Vero Kitsuné

The moon is one of the most mysterious things in our universe—of uncertain origin, younger than our planet, and marked by a shadowed side that has fueled myths, legends, and conspiracy theories for centuries.

It has long inspired artists across every medium. Early French cinema pioneer Georges Méliès once imagined a whimsical journey to its surface, capturing humanity’s fantastical imagination and fascination with what hangs just out of reach. However in New Jersey-based electropop producer and vocalist Anne Eisendrath’s — also known as Anniee — latest track the perspective shifts. She reminds us of something quieter but no less profound: no matter where we stand on Earth, we are all looking at the same moon — a shared, luminous thread that binds us together.

Self-produced by Anniee and mixed/mastered by Von Hertzog (VHxRR, Information Society), “Don’t Miss The Moon” carries that sense of intimacy into its sound. The production carries some of Anniee’s signature aural textures — kaleidoscopic, crystalline synth arpeggios that seem to bounce and refract across the stereo field. There’s a distinctly progressive house / EDM foundation underneath, but it’s softened by retro, nostalgic synth tones that give the track a sense of emotional warmth rather than club-oriented urgency.

Anniee’s vocals float above this shifting backdrop with an angelic, almost ethereal quality. She often sustains notes longer than expected, stretching phrases in a way that feels theatrical — unsurprising given her background in theater and musicals. Her tone carries a subtle fragility that adds a human dimension to the otherwise polished soundscape.

Lyrically, the track leans into simplicity to convey longing and connection. The recurring question — “where did you go, my darlin’” — grounds the song in absence, while the chorus reframes the moon as a shared point of contact. Lines like “as I whisper a thousand prayers for you” add a quiet emotional weight, giving the track a sense of intimacy without overcomplicating its message.

“Don’t Miss The Moon” doesn’t try to overwhelm. Instead, it shimmers and lingers. Like its namesake, it invites you to slow down, look up, and recognize the subtle connections that often go unnoticed.

For more Anniee, visit: https://anniee1.bandcamp.com/

Synth EP Review: “The Grand Harmony Hotel (EP & Singles)” by Sun City & Izzy Perri

by Karl Magi

Sun City & Izzy Perri’s “The Grand Harmony Hotel (EP & Singles)” brims with joyful retro synth energy as Izzy Perri gives a performance full of verve, playful expression and soul deep passion. I enjoy the atmosphere and emotion of this EP as it unfurls.

“Champagne Arrival” comes into being as a laid-back drum beat cruises with a round-sounding, jazzy synth. The guitar bends with slightly fuzzy tones to sail with serenity while the drums pulsate in a swaying rhythm. The vocals are sensual and silky while the brassy synth mingles with chimes that sparkle delicately. The bluesy guitar howls while the gliding underpinnings move with glassy sureness. I enjoy the way in which this track introduces the EP.

As a guitar entangles with easygoing smoothness, a sun-dappled synth cruises with the drums to open “Endless Vacation.” Izzy Perri’s voice radiates affection and loss while the guitar chugs with luscious sound as gleaming tones ring out like uplifting bells. The drums flourish and the chorus climbs with Izzy Perri’s richly expressive voice while the guitar growls with lively effulgence and the beat skims past.

Jonas Klintström Larsen’s sax leaps in with passion dripping from every reedy, vibrant note while Izzy Perri pairs his engaging vocals with a melody that is both dreamy and lost. Percussion continues to slip while the chimes glimmer with iridescence. The song drifts into a peaceful segment and the lead singer is able to draw me deeply into the music.

Once again, the sax flies with blazing intensity as the guitar adds shape. Jonas Klintström Larsen’s solo captures the song’s wistful, nostalgic feelings before it ends.

“When I get this feeling, I can see the time just passing by” and when the narrator thinks of leaving, he says, “There's something I need so far away from me now,” while he realizes he has to get himself out of the town he's in. He wonders how long it'll be until he doesn't need to say “take me home” anymore.

“I'm too in love with those city nights, it seems like we're finding out the hard way every time,” and our storyteller is too afraid to run, adding that “vacation’s just not long enough.” If he continues to believe, he “could see the skies of Saint Tropez, walk along the beaches like everything is new,” but it remains something far away now.

“All You Make Me Do (Is Cry)” commences with a loping beat and guitar that moves with a funky flow. Izzy Perri’s voice drips with pained feeling while the drum beat moves with ease and glimmering notes flicker. Izzy Perri has a voice like caramel and chocolate, sweet and full of sensuality. The track sweeps by while the vocals wrap around me with heartfelt emotion.

I enjoy the sensitivity and skill in Izzy Perri’s interpretation of the lyrics while the pattering beat ticks along. The lead synth has a jazzy, chilled-out feeling as it roams with easygoing richness and ripples through the music. The chorus is full of silken, evocative expression while the drum beat continues to pop with a loose-limbed flow. Izzy Perri’s vocals are full of hurting emotion before silence falls.

Pointing out that “I could’ve told you I was lonely, I could’ve told you that I've been here before,” the narrator explains that whenever the song’s subject is around him, “I can't let go ’cause you told me you loved me, you told me you cared.” He wonders if, “now that I've got it together,” it would make any difference if he told the other person that he tried, asking, “would it even matter?” because all the other person does is make him cry.

Our storyteller says that “you try to tell me to be different, it's never been easy to change my mistakes.” As he observes the other person's distance but adds, “it's never too late to get out of this place,” because the song’s subject confessed their love for him, “no matter the day.” He asks again if having gotten things together, “would it make any difference if I gave you the time?”

When the song’s subject told the narrator that they loved him and everything they shared, he thought that love would last for eternity. He concludes, “does it make any difference, did we run out of time? Guess it doesn't matter when all you make me do is cry.”

Swirling notes exhale pure calm before Izzy Perri's voice comes in with deeply ingrained caring to start “We Look Good Together.” The drum beat shapes the music as an electric bass entangles with Izzy Perri's fervent voice, taking hold of the lyrics and piercing my heart with them. The drum beat continues to touch while the fat bass adds weight. The background radiates champagne light while the low end adds a relaxed sensation.

Jonas Klintström Larsen’s sax matches the heartfelt emotion within the vocals, crying and creating fierce yearning. Izzy Perri's voice glides like an unfurling tapestry of love and yearning while the luminous synth bursts. Once again, the vocals move with luscious desire and a sense of powerful wanting while the cruising drum beat and pulsing bass add shape. As the track ends, Izzy Perri's vibrantly affectionate performance fades out.

“I’m not shying away, if I loved you then, I’m probably going to love you now,” and our storyteller doesn’t need an escape because the song’s subject is likely going to be the one he needs around. He adds that he knows they look good together in some way, he knows it by “just lookin’ at her and when she comes back around.”

Once again, the narrator reiterates that he isn’t shying away and if he loved the song’s subject then, he’ll love her now. He says, “I’ll spend every day in the moments I could never quite forget about.” He realizes that there isn’t any way to return from the situation as he says, “it’s not like I would ever recover.”

“It’s a revelation when we find new things, we want to get out of this,” so when they come back around, our storyteller knows and asks the other person what the long face is for. He points out that he was very lonely just thinking about it and concludes, “now I finally see who you are and I waited so long just thinking about you and I don’t know how.”

“Next to You” begins with a bell-like synth spilling out while a guitar slips with tenderness. Chimes sweep and Izzy Perri's voice is full of true devotion. A guitar strumming creates a further airiness while the vocals slide with intense, moving love. The way in which Izzy Perri captures commitment and a dreaming feeling touches my heart.

The bass and drums guide while the guitar shimmers with eloquent sensations. Izzy Perri has a knack for expressing fondness while the guitar solo reaches out with warmth, levitating above the low end. The chorus slides in with velvety, ardent lines while the beat continues to rebound and the guitar moves with billowing ease. The synth transmits the melody with wistful gentleness and the song ends.

When the narrator considers the rest of his life, he wonders if he has “this love for a while.” Is it just a moment in his time, or “is it really here forever, could forever be fine?” He goes on to say that if he’s absent for a while, “just know that I'll be right there next to you.” He adds, “I could be hopeless for a while, I'm gonna end up right there next to you, waking up next to you.”

“I never thought we'd drive a million miles,” as he and the song’s subject experienced “every up and down, laugh and cry.” When he sees the other person “in that dress that you like,” he thinks, “this really could be forever, yeah, forever is fine.”