Synth Single Review: “Out Of Touch” by Future Analog & Saturday AM

by Karl Magi

Future Analog & Saturday AM’s “Out Of Touch” washes into shadow and ominous hints before a blinding synth explodes and Aaron Boyd conveys broken love and agonizing loss in his haunting voice. Future Analog infuses the track with brooding darkness to deepen its impact.

Percussion collides with massive force beneath metallic hammering that floats in the distance as the main melody echoes with crushing strength before Aaron Boyd exhales with an aching need that closes around my heart.

Majesty fills the main melody as mechanical noises create ghostly feelings in the background while a disembodied voice hovers. Drums fade as blinding notes cut through and the entire track accelerates and the lead synth cries out. Aaron Boyd conveys an upwelling of hurt while the track becomes fragile and closes.

Feeling as if he's "coming undone, all alone in the dark" the narrator muses that he's not quite himself lately. He reminds the song’s subject that "you left me with nothing but these scars" despite being the brightest thing and the best of him. He asks the other person to "tell me that you felt it too" because they've gotten out of touch. He misses "the glow of your love. "

"If you get my message and you're awake," our storyteller asks the song’s subject to try him and take what they need, "take everything from me, just don't say goodbye." Pleading with the other person to go slowly but not to go, he concludes "you could’ve been the brightest thing, you could’ve been the best of me. tell me that you felt it too cuz I'm out of touch with you."

Synth Single Review: “Astroloop” by Aeronexus & Beckett

by Karl Magi

Aeronexus & Beckett’s “Astroloop” begins with bright lights floating off into space before the drum beat towers and strings carry a melody which breaks with hurt and growing loss. Beckett's talkbox creates a robotic impression, somehow deepening the emotional weight of the words, despite its artificial quality.

In the distance, a synth glistens with planetary brilliance, while the talkbox vocals generate more disconnection, as strings touch the music with wistful tones. A synth solo moves with expressive iridescence before Beckett’s soulful performance grasps me and the robotic chorus intertwines with more human vocals. As the strings levitate and suffuse the music with a supernova light, the words float into thoughtful silence.

As our storyteller is trapped in a loop without the song's subject, he feels his life is pointless and the world weighs on him in his loneliness. He tries to "justify the times, the lies" as he feels trapped, unable to stop thinking because he wants the other person back. He says "I'm in the void, I stare and I cry from beyond the black" but he can't escape the loop because it is "the astrometric of time itself."

Falling like debris, the narrator is "floating so peacefully and aimlessly away" as he takes a one-way trip to the closest star. He's "stuck in an astroloop" as he seems unable to get anywhere. He refers to the song’s subject as "my tracking beacon, trying to bring me home." He adds that the retros are offline and he has to face the situation alone.

To conclude, our storyteller delivers a monologue, saying, "computer’s down, wiring’s shot, retros are offline. I can't stop thinking about you as I head into the singularity. I just hope that maybe there's a chance, maybe there's a chance that you and I are together on the other side."

Synth Single Review: “Tapeheads Unite” by Louvers

by Karl Magi

Louvers’ “Tapeheads Unite” rises to life with encouragement and neon illumination while the drums collide and the bass pushes forward. The lead singer captures the exuberance of the lyrics while tones burst out with positivity and light the whole track with thrilling brilliance.

Anticipation and celebration flow out to grasp me while tiny digital tones flicker like LEDs and trembling notes shine with uplifting energy. Warming, nostalgic chords Infuse the music with happiness and enthusiasm.

The percussion explodes while the guitar shines with dreamy radiance and the lead singer touches me with unbridled joy. The continually slipping background is cut by clean drums rebounding before the song ends.

While others dismiss them as crazy, the tape heads spend hours "baking all day until the screen lights up" and fill their time with VHS tapes and friendship. The song calls for like-minded people to unite and celebrate VHS forever in July where they meet under Pennsylvania skies.

Asking one another where they came from and if they found anything cool, the tape heads would reject you if you said VHS is dead. They spent time camping or staying in a hotel with a pool and the narrator concludes, "Ten years down the road, when I’m lost and getting old, (I’ll) remember this time and place when we brought back yesterday."

Synth Remix Review: “Alexandra” by Valley Lights & Driver405

by Karl Magi

Valley Lights’ “Alexandra (Driver405 Remix)” jumps with a sleek technological edge that generates irrepressible motion, creating an exhilarating mood which brims with growing excitement and a hint of trembling anticipation. As Kai Mammoser’s vocals echo distantly, bells ring out chord changes which shine with a striking aurora as the dance floor friendly underpinnings fuel a powerful rhythm, permeating the music with energy.

Driver405 foregrounds Kai Mammoser’s unmistakably fiery performance as the drums accelerate and the track builds to a crescendo. Bass and drums intermingle with sharp angled tones, transporting a cleanly slicing melody that creates an exciting feeling. The vocals twist and drift with strangeness while the percussion adds huge muscle to drive everything.

The anthemic chorus generates enormous uplift while bells create brilliance and the leaping low end is joined by gargantuan beats. All of the musical elements grab me, surging with live wire energy. The background buzzes with ominous sounds that echo like growing darkness, balanced with the smouldering desire in Kai Mammoser’s voice. The main theme erupts with dramatic wildness before the towering rhythm carries the song to a close.

The narrator is deeply attached to Alexandra and can’t live without her. He pleads with her not to let him go, creating overwhelming longing. The mood becomes more bittersweet as he admits that Alexandra’s still in his dreams, where he can pretend that everything between them is still alright.