Synth Single Review: “Radio” by FM-84 & Josh Dally

by Karl Magi

FM-84 & Josh Dally’s “Radio” travels through alienation and hope, growing to life as a hollow hovering becomes splashes of honey-coloured light defined by a steady throb. Weaving an enchanting web, FM-84’s composition uplifts Josh Dally’s dream-inspiring vocals as dense patterns glide below. Rippling radiance cascades in contrast with Josh Dally’s distinctively earnest performance, catching me up in the world he breathes into life.

Melody slips with thoughtful clarity, a reflecting pool of intense emotion, while rhythm steadily shapes the sound. A broken trembling fills the vocal performance while FM-84 paints on his sonic canvas with subtlety and graceful motion. Climbing to float above density, Josh Dally takes the lyrics and imbues them with touching immediacy.

All of the sweeping space opens around the sweetly affecting vocals while pearlescent lustre infuses auroral synth patterns. Like tiny gems in a dark firmament, synth sparks dance while the vocals vibrate with soul-deep feeling before the song closes.

Trapped in a city from which he can’t escape, our main character is “caught in the same situation again.” The narrator describes him “spinning around to the same old sound,” and as he hears his name called, he doesn’t feel the same. He asks, “Hey, can we radio right now?” Urging the song’s subject to walk away, the narrator tells him not to stay because “we’re playing the game without taking the blame.”

He adds, “You can let them say silence isn’t the way,” but both of them know, so “don’t let it show.” Our storyteller says, “Hey, I know it’s crazy, but I swear I ain’t going nowhere else tonight,” so he asks the song’s subject to look him in the eye and “radio outta here.” He asks the other person to imagine “there’s a dial in life that you’ve never known.”

According to the narrator, this dial allows you to travel to “places you’d never know right now.” The song’s subject tells him that it wasn’t them or what they were dreaming of. He concludes, “We always said we’d know, change the station and let go.”

Synth Single Review: “If Only” by Fonz Tramontano & Calida J

by Karl Magi

Fonz Tramontano & Calida J’s “If Only” captures memory and loss as thunder cracks and rain falls while sun-dappled tones yearn. Warm thoughts drift as Calida J seizes all of the deep care and soft-edged memory, driving it home with her genuine performance. Joy and youthful freedom mingle as trickling notes descend like sunbeams, caressing and gentle. Heavily guiding underpinnings support the painful expression within the lyrics.

Rising high, crystalline tonal patterns flicker together, encapsulating emptiness and profound hurt. My heart goes out to the narrator, feeling all of her deep emotion in Calida J’s affecting voice. Tiny sparkles, like fireflies, shimmer as a ringing synth vibrates and the lead singer’s breath-warmed voice fades into the rain.

Calling the song’s subject her light, our storyteller says the other person is “always in my memories of summertime.” When they were young, they ran around, acting like they owned the town and “no one could bring us down.” The time they had together was short but wonderful, they felt at home on the streets where there was “nothing we couldn’t face,” and nothing else mattered.

As they shared experiences of “picnics by the riverside, laughing at the boys going by, skipping stones against the night with not a care in sight,” the narrator muses, “If only we would have known somehow all the things we know right now,” perhaps the song’s subject would still be around today.

With her tears running dry, our storyteller adds, “I never dreamed that you’d have to say goodbye.” Understanding that the song’s subject was just a child at the time, she wonders if they were let down by their friends. She thought the other person wasn’t in danger, but they kept all their fear and pain locked away. She concludes, “Our hearts are shattered.”

Synth Single Review: “Wishing Well” by Novaclypse & Shred Krueger

by Karl Magi

Novaclypse & Shred Krueger’s “Wishing Well” speaks of standing up to what we fear and opens with seething darkness below mournfully fragile tones slipping above falling rain. Spectral edges erupt as Shred Krueger’s guitar slashes into hungry life. High above the churning shadows, piercing radiance spills outward. Haunting and tender, elevated notes intertwine above the fearsome laceration and hammering weight below.

Defiance and strength flash from Shred Krueger’s fingers, suffusing me with sensations of resistance and unending threat. Slamming with great force, rhythmic percussion forms a foundation beneath the guitar’s raging storm.

Notes with trailing, ghostly elegance capture disconnection and lurking melancholy, contrasting with smashing strength and growing danger. Rain continues to fall as painful contemplation exudes from drifting sounds. Climbing higher and twirling intensely, the guitar makes a filigreed leap before drums beat slowly and the track urgently throbs into silence.

Synth Single Review: “Apogee” by Stacy Gabriel

by Karl Magi

Stacy Gabriel’s “Apogee” reflects an advancement toward personal progress as mingled emotions collide with metallic resonances. Easily rebounding percussion creates a comfortable bed for radiant notes to intertwine. Melodically flowing tones transmit aching hope and complex forward motion, breezy arpeggios trailing around the melody. Gentle bells brush with a tenderness and blooming possibility that draws me in. Sunlight and brilliance are underpinned by hushed percussion, while encouragement leavens the ache inherent in the melody.

Sharp edges cut beneath a diaphanous synth halo exuding peace and acceptance. Heaviness guides in reverberating lines, balanced with diamond delicacy, before a melodic pattern sings out. A velvet synth captures tranquility and growing resolve. Majestic, soaring sensations leap from faceted notes that create aspiration, rising and flying like a caged bird set free. A mournful musical figure slides out on deeper notes before the song ends.