Synth Single Review: “World of Promises” by Michael Oakley

by Karl Magi

Michael Oakley’s “World of Promises” delves into this world’s brokenness as a cassette tape spins up in a tinny jangle of sound. Phantom impressions float outward before apocalyptic bass shatters against Michael Oakley’s ardent voice, transmitting loss and suppressed rage. Thundering weight punctuates the vocals which burn with indignation and warning, as spectral tones trail like the hands of the dead.

Resonance and heart-piercing depth within Michael Oakley’s vocals seize me and capture all of the defiance in the lyrics. Snapping heaviness slices as pounding depth heaves while Michael Oakley expresses confronting energy and passion. Dana Jean Phoenix adds warming harmonies to the soundscape. Broken crystal tones ring as hypnotic beats batter while the vocals drift, full of compelling power. A rapid, metallic trembling shifts above pained strings before Michael Oakley carries the song to a conclusion.

 Asking for a show of hands, the narrator inquires as to who is losing self-control as we are “over-stimulated, running on false hope.” In a battle of words, different forces seek to recruit you because “it’s all for power, to conquer and divide.” He wonders if, in a world full of promises, our words mean anything and “where is the truth in all of this?” He points out that he can’t stand it any longer.

Fissures break our souls as “society is eating itself whole, manifests of lies from tongues of fire, singing the agenda of corporate choirs.” In this world of promises, our storyteller is trying to get it to make sense, to understand “a sleight of hand, an empty kiss, just to get the higher score.”

There is a “mayday call the fear incites” as the hidden powers play all sides. “The cracks are showing in mankind, it’s a fever dream, world of promises.”

Synth Single Review: “Timeless” by LukHash

by Karl Magi

LukHash’s “Timeless” paints vivid images of eternal dimensions beyond knowledge as fluttering notes drift out into a satin void. A great heft swells below as tones like strangely glowing orbs gain power, touched by breathy air. Entangled bassline strength supports whirling arpeggiations, creating vortexes moving across a spatial plane. Lonely tones carry melancholy contemplation, instilling a meditative state. Floating freely, I am suspended in endless openness.

An element of triumphant nobility permeates the prismatic synth, mingling with mournful sensations before spinning arpeggios drift like galactic arms slowly turning. Images of interlinking, surreal vistas spread outward, taking the listener on a journey into odd worlds. Rhythmic muscle rebounds to guide a melody speaking of wandering through incomprehensibly large dimensions, on the journey seeking knowledge about the true nature of our reality. Rising notes spill cosmic brightness across the landscape of strangeness before the track closes.

Synth Single Review: “Cadillac” by Heartbreak City & The Lightning Kids

by Karl Magi

Heartbreak City & The Lightning Kids’ “Cadillac” takes a journey past affection and a broken heart to reach resolution as a subtle guitar weaves a glistening, diamond-knotted melody. Rushing with all the speed of a car down an open highway, percussion propels vocals which reach out to caress and capture hurting affection. Emma Ballantine and Johnny Spalding transmit sweetness and emotion in their harmonic performance, entangling me inside soulful warmth.

Effulgence suffuses the chorus, encompassing both performers, as the guitar rockets like a V8 roaring down the highway. Remembrance and defiance mingle in the vocal performance, each singer showcasing their own unique sound while bringing them into luscious life. Shafts of sunlight chime from synth while the guitar slices and distant vocals levitate. Passionate life flares from emotionally engaging words while the underlayer pounds. As the music closes, impressions of pain and freedom interlock with hovering tones.

As he drives down desolate roads to a place unknown to people, our storyteller’s “riding out, dusk till dawn, just so I could prove you wrong.” They tell the song’s subject that they’re not coming back, adding “ooh I took your Cadillac, left you there, you behind” as the other person says they’ve lost their mind.

Finding themselves “breaking up, breaking down,” the narrator finds a place outside of town, seeking a small sign to prove that they’re right. They go on to say “need a little faith, believe you won't have a hold on me.” They leave them there, glancing back as They’ve taken the song subject’s Cadillac. They find themselves “blinded by the lights, running from the night, driving with your ghost.”

“I need to let you go, I’m blinded by the lights falling from the sky” as our storyteller had to leave the town they were in “before you took me down.” As they are “racing out, rodeo, left the place I used to know,” they turn onto the freeway just to feel alive and say “baby I’m not coming back, I told you it was over and I left you there, you behind,” but the other person stays on their mind.

As the song concludes, the narrator says “it’s Friday night and you’re on my mind, I take your car and leave you one more time.”

Synth Single Review: “Return To Earth” by Aisle 9

by Karl Magi

Aisle 9’s “Return To Earth” poignantly captures the thrill of the Artemis mission and its return to Earth as expanding underpinnings grow and Aisle 9’s guitar flickers like starshine. A mood of exultant exploration drifts free as guiding foundations rise with consequential depth. Effervescent lightness fills my being as the guitar reaches for the vast distances beyond our thin atmosphere. Actively dancing drums evoke the pull of returning home, despite the excitement of the mission.

Soft vocals form a caressing complement to the guitar’s delicate motion, their wordless gentleness adding wistful memory. Above them, Aisle 9’s guitar echoes out into the broad reaches of galactic beauty, arcing around the Moon as the Artemis craft did. Contrasting sensations of massive power and the fragility of human life permeate melodic patterns, reflecting the last mission to the Moon’s significance. As a threnody shines, Aisle 9’s guitar casts a cosmic spell of emotional intensity before silence falls.