Synth Single Review: “Torque” by Alex Boychuk

by Karl Magi

Alex Boychuk’s “Torque” begins with pellucid tones delicately tracing outlines through a hazy background, growing in a constellation that expands with piercing tones dropping through. A crescendo leads to a heavy rhythmic beat thundering against arpeggios spinning out in a cosmic pattern while the background swirls before Alex Boychuk's guitar unwinds a melody that reaches into outer space with yearning and growing force.

Distant light twinkles from fragile chimes that spread out into the vastness around them as a solar wind sweeps and metallic notes cascade. Another crescendo rises as the guitar creates a wide blanket of galactic light spreading across the universe, transmitting all of its boundless power and majestic breadth to me.

The rhythmic heartbeat guides the journey while the arpeggios twirl and the music creates the impression of outer space structures with enormous size and inspiring beauty. The track closes on a soft exhalation and glides out into silence.

Synth Single Review: “Crystal Beach” by St.Cliche & Nightflyer

by Karl Magi

St.Cliche & Nightflyer’s “Crystal Beach” splashes as softly tremulous tones move with a ringing bell that permeates the music with meditative sensations before the rhythmic percussion gives the track solid weight. Vaporous, pipe-like notes trickle downward like waves on white sand before the main synth carries a melody with laid back calm, reflecting a seaside mood.

Tiny flickers of sound evoke light on blue water and the entire track exudes imagery which paints a picture of spending time on a long expanse of beach, watching the sparkling waters splash on the shore as a melody eddies like a summer zephyr all around me.

As the guiding foundation pulses,intermingling notes call up sensations of escape and undeniable peace, slipping in a graceful line while the aquatic notes wash. Elevated sounds shine like gulls turning in the wind before the soft percussion and drifting synth falls silent.

Bunny X - Love On A High Floor

Review by Karl Magi

Overall Album Impressions

Bunny X’s “Love On A High Floor" is a retro-infused encapsulation of love, desire and irresistible attraction that showcases Bunny X’s songwriting talents along with their vocal strength and the addictive musical background which carries the story along. All of the various elements come together in a complete exploration of wanting and need that takes place in a 1980s office tower. The mixture of classic retro sensibilities with talented guests and Bunny X’s uniquely ear pleasing sound results in an album that is a great deal of fun and still full of earnest emotion.

With the songwriting, singing and expression of Bunny X’s singers coming in to add luscious energy, “Love On A High Floor" mixes all of the rush of new love with uncertainty and a passion that blazes without restraint to create gripping storytelling. The singers have voices that suit the tenor of the music and the emotive sensations they strive to create as the songwriting lays the story out with clarity and heartfelt feelings.

Each of the guest artists brings their own fresh sonic approach to “Love On A High Floor" while still respecting the album’s overall vibes. Whether it's the production done by Sellorekt/LA Dreams and Don Dellpiero, the guest guitar work from Heatracer, Tony Lake and Darren McHardie or Emma Ballantine Dykes and Mary Hanley’s vocals, the end result is a level of sonic beauty and instrumental skill that deepens the whole album.

As the background exudes 1980s cool and infuses every element with desire, affection and need, the whole story unfolds to carry me along. Each part of the music lifts me into a world of power suits, late night offices and the contrast between big hair and bright clothes with the drab grayness of downtown buildings. At the end of the day, this is an album to put on and travel to a nostalgic past.

My Favourite Tracks Analyzed

“Starting Dreams” flowers with a slowly tapping pulse and gigantic bass as the lead singer’s alluring vocals are joined by the drums which create action and life while the melody mingles eagerness and nervousness. The underlayer punches with conviction as the two singers share harmonies that glow with bliss while the drums have a heartbeat that imbues the song with vitality.

Sweeping sounds drift as the two singers harmonize and the synth pours out warm feelings and tones climb and gleam with aspirational luminosity before Don Dellpiero’s guitar cuts in, trembling with barely restrained ardour, while the pounding foundation drives forward. Synth stars glisten as the singers bring together their compelling voices and the song radiates feelings of potential and nervous anticipation while the lead singer cradles the song with her fervent voice before silence falls.

Caught "on a razor's edge at the starting line," it's far too late to travel back in time for our narrator. She realizes that, "I've gotta get it right, there's no turning back now" as the pressure increases. She knows that she won't "give up, give in, slow down” because she's starting dreams with the song's subject. Each minute is new and everything begins with the other person.

As a switch is flipped, the race begins and the storyteller says there's "no second to spare, so I'll just push on." Adding that the song’s subject is her only shot, she says, "I won't let this chance fade, I'll give it all I've got." She doesn't plan on stopping or wasting time now and her expectations are elevated but she sees a fire in the other person's eyes.

A telephone rings before the nostalgic harmonies are tinged with limpid bells and a strongly propulsive rhythm as “True Confession” spills out with the singer's voices mingling together in a luscious combination before the lead singer’s assured vocals transmit a melody lifting up a sense of anticipation.

The melody erupts with barely contained affection and magnetic attraction as the vocals carry me along with the ardency that saturates the lyrics. Character fills the singers voices as washing notes glisten and the drums cascade.

Over the steady bass pulsation, the two singers exhale beauty and a melody that reflects the emotional depth of the confession that is encapsulated in the melodic line before the song closes.

Saying that she and the song’s subject could dance all night long and into the daytime, the storyteller adds that everything feels right when she's with the other person. She goes on to say "the secret is a true confession" as she asks the song’s subject what they'd say if she told them they were the one. She wonders whether or not they’d stay with her.

The narrator asks why they don't make up a plan and says, "please say we'll be okay cuz this feeling’s so strong, I know it'll never, ever go away. " As she knocks on the other person's door, she says that she's got a lot to say and pleads,"don't leave me hanging out here. "

“One Touch” showcases Mary Hanley’s backing vocals as a catchy synth line joins bells and a wildly active rhythm moves with assured dynamism as the singers combine their galvanizing voices in a harmony that is full of pleasing warmth.

The lead singer's voice echoes with wholehearted feeling and a tumbling bassline pops with joyful motion while brilliant chimes add gossamer delicacy. The harmonic performance of all the singers compels me with its richness while a flaring synth floods the track with sunshine. A saxophone unwinds with spirited tones, full of positive encouragement.

The chorus leaps out again with sweetness and uplift before cascading underpinnings move with the slicing bass and the track closes out.

Despite it being only one look and one touch, our storyteller craves even more. She says that with “one glance, true romance never felt like this before.” Caught in morning traffic after a hectic week, she has been “workin’ all day and night, it just never seems to end.”

Glancing over at the song’s subject, she knows that he could tell she needed “love and affection” as she wonders if “the stars have aligned” and asks if she has to say what he already knows she is telling him.

She adds, “I saw you by the coffee machine and I had to know your name,” so she asked her friend, who said, “oh they’re all the same, in their beige suits and Wall Street dreams,” but she knew he was different and felt that he was the one for her.

Serenity infuses the shimmering synth and interlocking vocal harmonies to bring “After Hours” into existence before the lead singer encapsulates all of the wanting and smouldering need in the vocals with her soothing and caressing performance as the melody touches with tranquility.

The synth grows with echoing cascades that exude excitement, diamond light has the lead singer pours feeling into her honeyed voice while the colossal rhythms throb. All of the restrained attraction begins to free itself and the way in which the vocals capture the ache for a deeper relationship charms me. The guitar unfurls with feelings of magnetic desire and love before the airy vocals shiver with the breath warmed attraction which they represent before the song ends.

Unable to sleep because she can't see the song's subject, the narrator says " it's real for me and I won't even try and pretend. " She adds that the first time she saw the other person "time stood still when you entered the room" even though she’d never met them. She'll try to keep things low-key but, "when it's after hours, let's stay and talk about nothing much. "

"You know it's such a rush, every time we touch," but our storyteller glances aside when the other person smiles. She continues, "I still got a thousand things to say, but this is where it stays, filling space between our days.”

“Night Moves” floats indistinctly to life, reflecting late-night moods with echoing fragility and evoking a dream of consuming love, painting a city skyline gleaming in the darkness. Breathy, sultry attraction permeates the melodic line, carried by intense vocals which reverberate with need.

A synth exhales with all the peace of a midnight dream as the two singers carry slow-burning melodic expression while rhythmic tones levitate below and complete tranquility spills from each note. The vocals capture deep desire that reaches for an irresistibly beguiling relationship.

Every production element evokes late-night thoughts and overwhelming desire mingled into a single intoxicating feeling. Moonlit tones hover in caressing motion as compelling desire is carried by the vocals before they shimmer into quiet.

Telling the song’s subject that “it’s too late, I’ve set my sights on you,” our storyteller points out that the other person has an uncanny ability to break through all of the walls she put up. “Caught you gazing at the sunset as the light poured through your office,” and she couldn’t look away.

“I’m done with all these night moves, let’s get it out in the open,” so they can rewrite all of the “hard rules of modern love.” The narrator points out that they can make it easy on themselves and not keep secrets. “Starting a new dream is what I’m thinkin’ of.” She’s having trouble concentrating because of “the way you speak my name, every time you call.”

To conclude, our storyteller says, “When you’re staring at the city from your view on 57, I always wonder who you’re thinking of?”

As the elevator rises, an iconic 1980s style beat and a lush synth expands through “Love On A High Floor” before the fat bass rumbles and the lead singer adds a seductive voiceover while the drums add massive movement before the singers create harmonic elegance.

As the reverberant percussion supports the vocals that give off caring mixed with fiery desire, the spoken word part comes in again as the percussion dynamically shapes the music. Hollow notes hover as the guitar weaves a tapestry of joyful emotion as wordless vocals add to the impassioned sensations.

The utterly charming mingling of the two vocal parts captures me with the earnestness and feeling in the performance while the varied percussion moves below. diaphanous notes glide with velvet easiness while the guitar gleams with thrilling energy before the song comes to a close.

The narrator remembers what the song's subject said to her "during that warm night last November" as they rode the elevator up as high as it would go, the other person looked at her and said, "Darling, this will be a night to remember" and she still does.

They found themselves making love on a high floor "for all the world to see" and our storyteller says they didn't care at all. She adds that the song's subject's smile "lit up my whole world" as the other person "unlocked every door" and showed her who she could be.

The narrator felt that she wouldn't see the other person again after that night but she "didn't want to break the spell our bodies cast" and she concludes, "I guess I didn't need to tell you that the dream wouldn't last forever because I knew we'd never forget. "

“Believe In You” sparkles delicately as a shaping beat moves below with the singer's breath warmed voice carrying the melody’s moving love before the cruising beat supports both singers’ harmonizing richness, transmitting the melody’s piercing, touching emotional tenor and the power of the lyrics.

As the percussion softly patters, the lead singer seizes me with all of her expressions of attraction while the synthesizer adds explosions of radiance, gleaming like hopeful sunlight before airy notes slide past. The lead singer drives home her earnest feelings without reserve before a tidal synthesizer rises and the singers bring their voices together before flaring sounds burst and the song closes out.

Our storyteller is watching the song's subject while they sleep which is something she never thought she'd do but "you changed everything, thought I was in a cage just hangin’ on before I met you." All of her thoughts are rearranged when the other person walks into the room and "the feelings are pouring out like getting caught in the rain." She's deeply into the other person because "you’ve made me believe in something again."

“Lovers” extends in a cool sonic cloud, guided by slowly undulating percussion through which SelloRekt / LA Dreams creates a soft mood before the lead singer captures the hurt and continuing desire that permeates the lyrics in a melody which brushes with tentative fingers.

Emma Ballantine harmonizes with added warmth and painful reminiscence while diamond arpeggios shine like dreams in the darkness above the rhythm, which echoes smoothly. The two singers intermingle their voices, aching with need and thwarted desire, while a synth nebula shines around them.

Love drips from the words, leavened by the poignant awareness that this affection may never be realized. Darryn McHardie’s guitar sails out on a tide of shining stars, transmitting a solo that encapsulates all of the burning attraction and broken hope within the words. Hushed beats move with the chorus that caresses in tender melancholy before the song undulates into quiet.

"I was fine for a while, even with a broken heartbeat," but for our storyteller it's like a blazing inferno, and there are "too many secrets to keep." Sometimes she can keep it under control and held in place, but "when I see you it all ignites again, whenever you're around," and she deeply wishes that they could become lovers.

"As cold as a stone sky, my heart breathes in and out" as it sinks and swims noiselessly. The storyteller points out that she'll always be reaching for the other person in her mind because "that's where we are suspended in time."

Conclusion

“Love On A High Floor" is a retrowave gem that transports me to another world and allows me to experience a love which is undeniable and incredibly powerful. The combination of the musical guests with Bunny X’s inherent ability creates music that is some of the most enjoyable I've heard so far this year.

Cassetter & Cyberwalker - After The Rush

Review by Karl Magi

Overall Album Impressions

Cassetter & Cyberwalker’s “After The Rush” is a journey into a world that moves between '80s nostalgia and futuristic aspiration, framing cinematic imagery of a neon-lit metropolis and an atmosphere that combines towering skyscrapers, ultra-cool penthouses, and rain-drenched asphalt. Cassetter & Cyberwalker illustrate this world with synthesized layers and melodies that resound with emotion while incorporating guest artists who bring their own instrumental abilities to bear. The end result is an album that explores the place it creates and the emotions that permeate that place.

At the heart of “After The Rush” are the melodies written by Cassetter & Cyberwalker. Each melody is clear and defines a different mood or sensation, embellishing it with a plethora of synth sounds that deepen the feelings on display. The choice of different tones and colours in the synths helps to elucidate the emotions that move within the melodic writing. Each track brings together interwoven soundscapes that act like a film camera, capturing scenes and atmosphere with clarity and an ability to freeze moments.

Both OutRunner and Sleepless-Nights contribute guitar work that is intricate and full of expression, each of them bringing their own style to the music and giving more weight and depth to the artists' writing. Lebedev Sax also contributes his inimitable saxophone sounds to further increase the music's power. I enjoy the fact that each artist can bring their own sonic signature while continuing to add to the richness of the work that has been created.

“After The Rush” creates a nice balance between chillwave vibes and more energetic tracks. The end result is music that carries me along while still keeping me engaged and interested in the atmospheric nature of each track.

My Favourite Tracks Analyzed

“Left Behind” starts with the turn of a key as it travels down lonely roads, capturing a roaming journey with lapping notes that wash past with an air of soothing, peaceful thought. Drifting past like the miles down an empty highway, a rhythm moves like passing fence posts below the melodic pattern.

A growing intensity spills from scintillating tones, glinting and supported by a desolate wind flowing through the music. Slowly touching notes are driven by a riffling drum flourish before a pipe-like synth melody paints images of an endless horizon reaching out, a car moving with silent disconnection toward it.

A haunting refrain from Out Runner’s guitar captures emptiness and isolation, evoking a long wander past seemingly endless fields and hills. Sensations of hushed contemplation glide past before an impassioned guitar solo is coaxed from the instrument by Out Runner’s talented hands, full of fierce emotion in the face of the loneliness of the asphalt moving into forever.

A confusion of voices and softly touching notes move with a steady, widely bursting beat as “Moonlight” hovers with a steady sonic exhalation and a melody casts a cool brilliance, like the moon on a clear night as it evokes feelings of peace and midnight contemplation. Lucid notes shimmer like a carpet of stars before Sleepless-Nights’ guitar encapsulates loneliness and dreams of past happiness, crying out with layers of feeling and grasping me in its emotive grip.

A synth broadcasts astral brightness while the guitar conjures up images of a clear night and an open window, a silhouetted figure watching as the world sleeps. Impactful drums move with the sobbing guitar, as it seizes all of the melancholy and dreamy thought, its tones now limpid and clean as it moves above vibrating notes. A giant percussive pulse moves forward as a synth drifts in a misty line before the guitar captures every nuance of emptiness and sadness before silence falls.

“Downtown” starts with notes that bend in a rising pattern as the technologically edgy beat moves with notes that breathe out with azure light and a hissing background evokes late night TV static, as a single figure gazes out from a penthouse across the skyline while panpipe-like sounds ripple, creating a chilled out sensation and paints pictures of a backlit apartment, high above the city streets.

Computerized tones carry the enigmatic melody, generating contemplation and a sense of disconnection. Razor sharp notes are joined by strings that create metallic vibration, generating a feeling of futuristic progress in a city of skyscrapers and bustling crowds. The underlying heartbeat gives the music dynamic vibrancy before trembling notes broadcast brilliance and reverberant sounds flicker as a string pattern is joined by falling rain.

Rapidly tumbling notes like stars falling join a solidly rhythmic beat and “Road Hog” generates a growing sensation of energy and power as the drums echo with massive strength. Shining, interlaced notes move below the spinning synth which bounces in short, choppy motion to evoke a sense of dynamism while the heavy beat provides propulsion.

A feeling of possibility and the open road permeate the music as a melodic pattern reflects thrilling potential and the drums drop before trembling notes create irrepressible brilliance. Cymbals and a snare drum create a parade-like background while a minor key synth joins slicing notes that cut cleanly. Heaving underpinnings create gigantic muscle and tumbling tones evoke restlessness before the track ends.

“Irrelevant” moves mournfully through space as percussive weight slows and an echoing voiceover speaks of the irrelevance of time in certain moments. A cosmic wave surfs above the vast pool of sound below while starlit veils shimmer. Impressions of lonely, vast tracts of cosmic darkness permeate the track.

Rising with tremendous power before dissolving into a subtle echo, the synth fades before the saxophone traces lustrous lines, capturing aching feelings in vibrating tones, cascading and slipping like starshine through atmospheric haze. Lebedev Sax creates a transmission of pure feeling, reaching out to fill me with trembling loneliness.

An atmosphere of compassionate understanding for the emptiness in the music fills each element. Delicate tones shiver, painting images of astral beauty, like planets glowing in the endless night. The saxophone cries out, driving home a message of desolation and melancholy. Trickling strings shimmy before the track breathes out into silence.

A piano unfolds with complete tenderness and a floating mixture of gilded notes swells to bring “Rearview Dreams” into being along with distant percussion before the entire rhythm erupts with smooth propulsion. A melody like glassy water slips pass, evoking a quiet moment contrasting with the energetic underlayer.

The percussion drops as cutting notes move along with sailing tones before the beat snaps again while orchestral strings entangle with laid back simplicity and sunny warmth. Technological notes slice before the percussion fades and twinkling stars of sound illuminate the background.

Air sweeps in again and the lead synth transmits calm and relaxation balanced by reverberating beats. A weight lifts away from me and I feel all of my tension dissolve as the spaced out melody shimmers and the track comes to an end.

“Life Underwater” Floats with aquatic ease before the beat smoothly creates support, shaking sound adding vibration to trembling tones, like gentle underwater currents as bursting percussive moments splash like waves. flowing with the softness of tropical reef waters, notes flash like silvery fish and bubbles rising.

A wash of blue sound calls to mind weightlessly drifting in turquoise waters, carrying me far away from the world’s harshness. Luxurious tones add another element of deep water floating, painting images of a colorful reef and all of the life it contains. Sensations of warm water all around and an environment full of incredible beauty move as vocals echo wordlessly and the track comes to a close.

Raindrops fall before extended chords create silken motion and “Glass Journey (Timesloth Remix)” is supported by a column of bass and drums in contrast to the complete tenderness of the main melody which has a hushed, metallic quality. Watery notes sprinkle through as the lead synthesizer captures melancholy and peace in equal measure, balanced with the clean low end.

A saxophone throbs with fervency and a distant, disconnected sensation as bending sounds carry alien expression and technologically cutting notes move past. The drums add another layer of sharpness while twisting sounds roam through space with growing urgency.

Elevated synthesizer trembles while the piano sparkles in delicate, affectionate lines as the pattering beat is sliced by metallic echoes and the huge drums add form. A jagged note pattern contrasts with the background’s pastel tones before the music ends.

Conclusion

“After The Rush” is a fine instrumental contribution to the synthwave canon. The way in which it mixes instrumental talent with atmospherics and melody creates music that keeps me drawn in and excited by what I'm hearing. The cinematic nature of the album only helps make it more enjoyable.