This is on the funkier, more organic side of British synthpop in part because of the instrumentation but also because of the songwriting. As such, it almost feels somewhere on the spectrum between synthpop and post punk, even though the attitude of this band is very much not something you would associate with post punk …
Tag: Minimal Synth
Computer World [Computerwelt] (1981) by Kraftwerk
There’s an argument to be made that Kraftwerk are one of the most influential bands of the 1970s, given how they are more responsible than anyone for the transition from the fairly abstract tone poems of ’70s German electronic to synthpop. That’s an argument I’m extremely receptive to on their pioneering mid and late ’70s …
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (1980)
As I listen to evermore synthpop my dislike of the genre is falling away, as I realize that there are songwriters hiding behind the synthesizers, and electronic bass and drums, and the more I discover this, the more I like some of these bands. OMD are one of the innumerable ’80s British bands who were …
Metamatic (1980) by John Foxx
I know nothing of Ultravox, Foxx’s former band, and have no idea if this chilly, austere “synthpop” record is a major change of pace for the former Ultravox lead singer. So I don’t know how much of a departure this record really is.
Suicide (1977)
It’s hard to review something when you’ve read too much about it but what you read did not in any way prepare you for what it is. That is the case for me with Suicide’s debut album, which is more minimalist than I ever imagined, as well as featuring much more of a clash between …