Thread for searching/recommending/discussing synthpop/minimal synth artists and albums that appeared/were released after 'Very' by the Pet Shop Boys (1993-present)

While watching the BBC Synth Britannia documentary again last night, I couldn't help but notice during the segment on the Pet Shop Boys where Neil Tennant referred to themselves as being "the last of the thing that started with The Human League". That period of time in synthpop stretching from, say, Kraftwerk's Autobahn to the appearance of Please by the Pet Shop Boys is, of course, very well documented and a lot of tracks and albums from that period have become classics and part of the "synthpop canon". The general consensus (to which I obviously agree) is that the Pet Shop Boys carried on releasing excellent albums up until 1993's Very.

But what about after that? Certainly over the last five years or so there's been what you could call a resurgence in popularity in the synthpop genre with artists taking their cues from that initial, well documented period. Even the quickest search of the internet shows that there is indeed a lot of stuff out there, and (as you'd expect) not all of it is good, let alone great.

So then: synthpop/minimal synth recordings released after the release of Very up until present. What would you consider recommending as the best of the stuff that's appeared in this genre over the last 22 years? Is there anything that compares favourably with a Violator, a Dare, a Technique, a Pleasure Principle, a Systems Of Romance? I'm preferably thinking more along the lines of artists that have appeared since the Pet Shop Boys rather than new albums by artists established during that initial, well documented period.

Another thing I seem to have noticed recently is that there seems to be more synthpop coming out of America than I can ever remember, and Sweden too. Whereas before it seemed to me like this stuff was more associated with the Germans (Kraftwerk), the British and the French (Jean Michel Jarre, Space etc.)

I'm not sure where "synthpop" ends and "dance-pop"/"electro-pop"/"indietronica" begins.

Are there artists here that you'd say obviously don't qualify?
http://everynoise.com/engenremap-synthpop.html

Whoa! Thanks for that, jaymc!

Looking over that graphic (and of course, ignoring artists from the "initial wave"), it's probably easier for me to say what does qualify rather than what doesn't.

I mean, I'd definitely say that Goldfrapp qualify for the records they've put out like Supernature, Black Cherry and Head First, even though they haven't always had that sound on every album. I'm thinking tracks like 'Fly Me Away', for example. It's definitely the side of Goldfrapp that I generally prefer.

I'd say that Chairlift qualify for their last album, Something. I'm very much looking forward to looking what they put out next, although it's hard to say whether they'll carry on in that vein or not.

xpost "dance-pop"/"electro-pop"/"indietronica" is one fuzzy border (or three contiguous ones)

another thing that synthpop shades into from the 90s onward is the "futurepop" of artists like VNV Nation, Covenant, De/Vision -- a niche genre, but one that seems to have endured.

It's an obvious choice, but Fever Ray is definitely the best synth pop album I've heard in this millennium.

Yeah, I guessed it wouldn't take long before someone mentioned either Fever Ray or The Knife's Silent Shout, both of which were/are incredibly well-loved here.

Love both the Chairlift and Fever Ray albums. I expect Junior Boys would qualify, too.

Since 2001 there's been a glut of material that fits: most obviously commercially with Lady Gaga's The Fame Monster and Robyn's recent albums, but underneath that there's an entire post-electroclash continuum that can be picked over (from The Hacker/Miss Kittin to Superpitcher to Captain Comatose to Lindstrom (esp. w/ Christabelle) to Glass Candy and so on).

Gratuitous shout-out to this enduring underrated classic: Shy Child's "Dark Days".

Meanwhile the best "minimal synth" act of the last decade is Invisible Conga People IMO.

But I'm more interested in discussing material from that period between 1993 and 2001 when synth-pop was at its lowest ebb, and where examples of it (apart from say Depeche Mode or Pet Shop Boys etc.) seem to have been confined to indie groups doing very deliberate, staged (and in retrospect arguably premature) callbacks to the 1980s: The Magnetic Fields (and esp. the first album from the Future Bible Heroes side-project), The Pulsars, Regurgitator's Unit. Is there anything else that fits?

my favourite synthpop album from the last 10 years: telefon tel aviv - immolate yourself

best one from last year: gazelle twin - unflesh

DMX Krew was a few years ahead of 2001 revival

I think 'Synthesizers In The Rain' by Denim is my favourite example of the 'indie groups doing very deliberate, staged 80s callbacks' stuff, some stuff on Denim's Novelty Rock, Denim Take Over and the first Go-Kart Mozart album would qualify as well

Komputer are kind of odd because they started off as an actual 80s synth pop group called 'I Start Counting', developed into a dance act called 'Fortran 5' in the early 90s and then went back to the synth pop stuff in the mid-90s (but in a way that seemed more like the more deliberate indie stuff mentioned above than there actual 80s pop stuff)

Dare wrote this on thread Comments in reviews most likely to put you off buying a record or going to a gig on board I Love Music on Mar 12, 2002

My favorite was the ad for Komputer:

"Komputer does for Kraftwerk what Oasis did for the Beatles!"

I couldn't stop laughing.

^^this is selling Komputer short imo, but I always think of this every time I listen to them

truly they were standing on the shoulder of robots

But I'm more interested in discussing material from that period between 1993 and 2001 when synth-pop was at its lowest ebb, and where examples of it (apart from say Depeche Mode or Pet Shop Boys etc.) seem to have been confined to indie groups doing very deliberate, staged (and in retrospect arguably premature) callbacks to the 1980s: The Magnetic Fields (and esp. the first album from the Future Bible Heroes side-project), The Pulsars, Regurgitator's Unit. Is there anything else that fits?

― Tim F, Friday, 20 March 2015 00:26 (8 hours ago)

I think 'Synthesizers In The Rain' by Denim is my favourite example of the 'indie groups doing very deliberate, staged 80s callbacks' stuff, some stuff on Denim's Novelty Rock, Denim Take Over and the first Go-Kart Mozart album would qualify as well

― soref, Friday, 20 March 2015 07:29 (1 hour ago)

Alongside that Denim track, there's the v.stagy "Electronic Renaissance" by Belle & Sebastian; there's White Town & Laptop, and early Stuart Price stuff was IIRC reviewed in a "nobody's ready for the 80s to come back" manner which swiftly changed ~01/02.

Not really a B&S fan but I do really like Electronic Renaissance.

Trying to think of other stuff from the 1993-2001 period. Dubstar, Barcelona, Baxendale, it's all indie though. Probably a lot of the Romo bands?

Joy Electric

TRUST. Both albums blend 80's darwave synth with early 90's industrial dance seanmlessly with great songwriting and melodies.

I really enjoyed Le Cassette's Left To Our Own Devices from last year.

Yeah, I heard that Le Cassette album too... you can tell they worked hard on it, but his voice always reminds me of Rick Astley for some reason!?

Close your eyes and think of Peter Murphy?

Another two that I've been listening to recently is the self-titled (and only, it seems) album from Linea Aspera (which came out in 2012) and Escape by Future Perfect (also 2012) ... I've liking them plenty so far, although I haven't spend enough time with either of them to know if they'll hold up over time.

What about The Faint?

there's this other 00-01 american band who's name escapes me (but i know it started with an 'F', and it's one word).. new order-ish, on deep elm records or one of those emo labels. the song i remember was something like "we are more powerful than you'll ever know". white and purple cover.

figurine? doesn't really fit your description

nah, the band i'm thinking of were more guitary. singer had a ridiculous fake english accent

ah got it! Finechina

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5gD2yZKxuA

here's their nice age of consent rip:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xx2M0eW4DO4

this may not be what you're after and the vox may do your head in but

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oojMM3APqK8

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=U6xG0fspuhc

From this year, here's a couple of synthpop albums I think are worth a listen:

Gateway Drugs – Dare Tonight
http://open.spotify.com/album/2wHqFtWeyAaFk1u19im05m

Pastel Ghost – Abyss
http://open.spotify.com/album/68UkuqIJb0Ob5EkCtry4x3

Both adhere pretty closely to classic 80s synthpop templates (GD more pop, PG more darkwave).

And I love parts of Ghost Culture's debut album from January. Much less retro than the others I've mentioned (or maybe not: at times it sounds uncannily like Matthew Dear circa 2004). "Answer" is easily one of my favorite tracks of the year so far.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=361MDBgoGyw

Austra's "Lose It"

All from circa 2001, and great singles:
De/Vision - Heart Shaped Tumor
Apoptygma Berzerk - Kathy's Song
Deine Lakaien - Generators

I have a feeling we already have a thread pretty much dedicated to this stuff and that it only really went away for a few years between 1994 and 2001.

Anyway what about John Maus - We Must Become The Pitiless Censors of Ourselves?

Turrican did you listen to the first Finechina youtube I posted? it is hella fine, imo.

on deep elm records or one of those emo labels

it was tooth & nail.

Turrican did you listen to the first Finechina youtube I posted? it is hella fine, imo.

― brimstead, Sunday, March 22, 2015 12:26 AM (14 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I certainly did! (I've given everything mentioned in this thread that I'm unfamiliar with at least one or two listens)

Will be checking out the album later on today :)

Anyway what about John Maus - We Must Become The Pitiless Censors of Ourselves?

― why dont u say something or like just die (dog latin), Saturday, March 21, 2015 9:52 PM (4 months ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Sorry, just seen this! I understand that it had/has its fans here, but ultimately I didn't really enjoy it.

Anyway, bumped because I've been sifting through quite a lot of "second wave" synthpop recently and... yeah, I'm kinda hitting a bit of a brick wall. Aside from your obvious contenders, I don't seem to be coming across much that's getting me excited.

Also, I'm noticing most of the good synthpop (or related) stuff seems to happening either in American/Canadian indie, or places like Sweden. UK synthpop doesn't seem anywhere near as vibrant: I mean, yes, we have CHVRCHES (who are great), but it seems a lot of the better UK synthpop albums in recent years were released by established acts from the first wave.

I guess there's also Vile Electrodes, Future Perfect and (the now defunct) Northern Kind, who incidentally reminded me a bit of Yazoo, but at the moment from what I've found, that seems to be as good as it gets for UK synthpop at the moment. I'm hoping someone will prove me wrong on that!

Fuck me, how much do these guys like Yazoo!?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-AftDzUQq0U

Ah god, this is fucking beautiful - can't believe I didn't hear this a couple of years back.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ni6_zZmJ86s

late 90s postrock/kraut act kreidler going full-on synth pop

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3eRoNzjwjkI

Canadian (husband/wife) duo New Look are worth a listen. Try 'Nap On The Bow' for starters. Also good for giving your speakers a workout, if that's your thing.

Fresh from Sweden for 2015...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_Svi6vpqkg

Another 2015 release from Dancing With Ruby:

http://dancingwithruby.bandcamp.com/album/in-the-interest-of-beasts