Synth Single Review: “Voices Carry (‘Til Tuesday cover)” by All The Damn Vampires & Mint Simon

by Karl Magi

All The Damn Vampires & Mint Simon’s “Voices Carry (‘Til Tuesday cover)” begins with Davey Oberlin’s guitar throbbing and wide spectrum drums wrapping around a synth exuding intense brightness. Mint Simon’s charismatic voice is full of ache and oppression, hinting at darker threads in the relationship. Their voice slices to my core and I find their ability to get into the song’s emotional depth compelling.

Davey Oberlin’s charging guitar and a synth which tumbles with broken shards support the vocals as they climb to the sky, capturing all of the challenge and suppression within the lyrics. Mint Simon delivers a performance which stabs my heart, their voice delivering unadulterated feeling. The sweeping synth glows with incandescent beauty and the guitar snarls while the vocal performance is ablaze with intense power, delivering all the emotional punch of the song.

The narrator feels silenced and suppressed by their partner, who discourages them from expressing their true feelings. Although they crave intimacy and connection, they feel unable to be vulnerable, leaving them frustrated, uncertain and trapped by their partner’s demands for silence.

Synth Single Review: “Among the ashes” by Millennium Falck

by Karl Magi

Millennium Falck’s “Among the ashes” looms into being with a single echoing low note on the piano as unsettled sounds in the distance are joined by a violin that exudes deep sorrow, capturing profound emptiness and the loss of something fundamental.

Warmth creeps into the sadness as the trembling notes fall with hurt and a guttering flame of hope. The piano softens the delivery while a violin melody bleeds with undeniable sorrow before a burst of marching strings rises. Snare drums snap in before the violin cries again, striking at my heart with bereavement touched by growing hope.

Marching strings and drums generate defiance as the crushing brass vibrates. The march possesses nobility and great dignity as the unevenly trembling brass forms an uncertain line. The low end drives forward with unquenched strength and majestic intent. As the track comes to an end, the martial drums chug below a lacerating synth.

Synth Single Review: “Time to Kill” by Color Theory

by Karl Magi

Color Theory’s “Time to Kill” erupts into life with an adrenaline pumping rhythm and an explosive synth burst which joins a speeding line of drums and metallic percussion trembling with life. Color Theory’s electrifying voice with its unique tones carries a melody that haunts the music.

The low end charges fiercely while the vocals rise with velvety force and the melody is silky smooth in comparison to the low end’s acceleration. Varied tones create an energizing percussive line while Color Theory entertains me with his lyrical delivery, contrasting melodic gentleness with violence.

A cascade of fire pours out of the synth while the darkly slicing low end floats before the vocals hover and surging underpinnings balance with glimmering chords that exude encircling light before the song ends on an orchestra hit.

Having left his whole weekend open, our storyteller has "time to kill, a grudge to nurse and nowhere to be. "While some people might call it rude and a petty injustice," he feels that the other person's snide remark wrecked his week so now it's "time to kill."

Referring to the other person as "a grain of sand in a sea of stars," the narrator adds that the universe will continue with or without them. He points out, "my darkest fantasies fill the hours, a swarm of killer bees asphyxiates you."

As he once again says he has time to kill, our storyteller says, "I'm still having flashbacks, feel the rush of blood, the sweat on my neck." Being a gentle person and a "sensitive creature" he's unable to simply forgive and forget so the time to kill has come again.

The narrator emphasizes the insignificance of the song's subject, pointing out that "the cosmos carries on with or without you” and he imagines the other person being eviscerated by "a drove of wild boars."

For our storyteller, this is a simply beautiful vision so, "let's go more extreme to hammer it home, it's time to kill." The song concludes as he dreams of the horrible fate facing the other person as "a helicopter blade decapitates you."

Synth Single Review: “Genlock” by DAC82

by Karl Magi

DAC82’s “Genlock” begins with droplets of synth sparkling across an expanding base that wobbles before arpeggios grow with compelling strength and a rhythmic pulse underlays the twisting arcs of sound. Drama grows with a wave of glassy fragments and propulsive beats towering while chiming notes flit with a fragile smoothness across a canvas of solid bass and guiding percussion.

Each musical element paints images of dimensions full of luminosity and complexity, places in which one's mind can run free. Exhaling synth sighs as deeper notes tremble and the steady foundation shapes the track as sounds bend and shiver with otherworldly sensations.

Shadows unwind in the distance as I travel on a tide of crystal shards over this detailed musical landscape. Arpeggios rotate as razor-sharp motion balances an elevated filigree and a darker, more string-like sound vibrates with a melodic pattern evoking momentary danger before silence falls.