Top Synth Pop Artists on Rhapsody Online

Depeche Mode

Tue, 29 Dec 2009 10:23:21 -0800

Depeche Mode will forever be '80s icons thanks to their role in helping invent synth-pop as we know it. But unlike so many of their peers, they've remained both active and relevant. From their earliest days with Vince Clarke (before he left for Yaz, then Erasure), Depeche Mode took a spindly, synth-pop sound and filled it out with touches of techno, industrial, Americana and modern rock. Principal songwriter Martin Gore and his bandmates fuse classic pop songcraft with productions that keep pace with advances in music technology; lead singer Dave Gahan's dramatic delivery, meanwhile, has helped their songs of loss and redemption become pop-culture touchstones, covered by everyone from Tori Amos to Marilyn Manson. It's easy to chart the overall arc of the band's career, from its minimalist, electro-pop beginnings to the swelling pop yearning of Music for the Masses and on to the dark extravagance of albums like Violator and Exciter. But an abundance of alternate versions and remixes has produced a messy canon. For many fans, that's half the fun: Depeche Mode's B-sides make for a fascinating alternative history of these alt-rock heroes. - Philip Sherburne

MGMT

Tue, 29 Dec 2009 10:22:47 -0800

MGMT (pronounced Management) are a restless electronic-rock duo. The two members -- Andrew VanWyngarden and Ben Goldwasser -- came together in 2002 while attending Wesleyan University in Connecticut as art students. In 2005, they released the catchy synth scrum "Time to Pretend," which became an underground hit and led to their being signed by Columbia Records. Their debut, Oracular Spectacular, a collection of sweeping, electronic Flaming Lips-style noise-pop songs, was released in 2007. Critical and popular accolades for the band reached a high at the CMJ Music Marathon a few weeks after the album's release. A tour alongside Of Montreal and a remix from Justice helped the band continue to merge its twin tendencies towards psychedelic pop and electro. - Philip Sherburne

Duran Duran

Sun, 20 Dec 2009 09:42:41 -0800

Duran Duran are largely responsible for bringing New Wave and New Romantic music to the mainstream. Taking their moniker from the film Barbarella, Duran Duran personified the 1980s by utilizing an exciting new concept called the music video. Anyone watching MTV back then was introduced to five English dandies from Birmingham who were jet-setting all over the globe. Duran Duran's signature style of seductive pop music is rooted in Funk rhythms, crafty Pop arrangements, and Glam rock melodies. The band first broke with the serpentine hit "Is There Something I Should Know." Shortly before the video for the glamorous, Eno-influnced "Girls On Film" was released, Duran Duran became a front page phenomenon; but it was sexy hits such as "Hungry Like The Wolf" and "The Reflex" from Seven and the Ragged Tiger (1983) that made Duran Duran a household word -- especially in the homes where teenage girls resided.

The Cars

Tue, 29 Dec 2009 10:23:25 -0800

Formed in Boston in 1976, the Cars took the trappings of the New Wave scene flourishing at CBGB in New York City, cleaned it up a bit, added a rock 'n' roll simplicity seemingly inspired by the Ramones, and proceeded to dominate the airwaves into the early part of the '80s. While synthesizers drove the action, they also provided a futuristic sheen to unshakably catchy pop songs, Ric Ocasek's deadpan vocals and his skinny, angular appearance, making the Cars the perfect compromise between the punk rock outsider aesthetic and nationwide marketability. It didn't hurt that their songs really were great. Try any of their first four records for proof.

Tears for Fears

Tue, 29 Dec 2009 10:22:44 -0800

Although they came of age in the days of Wang Chung and Kajagoogoo, there was always something more substantial to Tears For Fears' brand of synth-pop. If there are godfathers of adult alternative music, they're Tears For Fears. The bleak, echoing piano on "Mad World" was most everyone's first glimpse into the emotional abstraction of Roland Orzabal's songwriting and Curt Smith's soul-inspired vocals. With 1985's Songs From The Big Chair, the group entered the big leagues thanks to hits such as "Shout," "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" and "Head Over Heels." Each one was an intricately arranged tune that deservedly rose to the top of the charts on a blend of soul, technology and smarts. The follow-up came four years later, and they began to get a bit too smart, throwing in elements of jazz and a somewhat overwhelming Beatles fetish. Curt Smith left the band in 1992, leaving Orzabel with the group's name. Records followed, including the unforgivably titled Raoul & the Kings of Spain, but none captured the public's attention in quite the same way. Despite the duo's strong differences, they were able to patch things up in 2004 for Everyone Loves a Happy Ending, a strong, tuneful record that put them back in critical favor. - Jon Pruett

New Order

Fri, 25 Dec 2009 11:17:26 -0800

New Order are frequently described as "survivors." Presumably, this refers to their days as Joy Division, which tragically ended with the suicide of vocalist Ian Curtis. They endured with the addition of Gillian Gilbert on keyboards, while guitarist Bernard Sumner took over vocals. "Survivors" might also refer to their evolution from the guitar-based post-punk of Joy Division to the increasingly synthetic sounds of their later records. But their survival instincts are truly indicated by the adept way they have evolved along with pop (and specifically dance) music. When "Blue Monday" hit dance floors in 1983, its grim atmosphere cast a dim shadow over the flickering disco lights and became an anthem for club kids tired of disco's naive, unyielding excesses. Their synthetic dirges were ubiquitous throughout the '80s. Their 1998 trance remix of "Confusion" for the Blade soundtrack pits raw electro sounds against bitter, fluid bass kicks. They have also maintained impeccable integrity keeping one foot in the mainstream and the other underground, generating colossal worldwide hits as well as disturbing, alienated tracks with depressive guitar echoes and sad synth melodies. Even their most elevated, ethereal moments are grounded in melancholy, but provide a vaulting spirit that gives solace to any wilted flower. - Marc Kate

Shiny Toy Guns

Fri, 18 Dec 2009 12:07:33 -0800

Los Angeles' Shiny Toy Guns are part of a new wave of electropop acts, like Cut Copy and She Wants Revenge, updating classic '80s pop with touches of emo and modern rock. Founded in 2002 by keyboardist Jeremy Dawson and vocalist/guitarist Chad Petree -- former bandmates from the Shawnee, Okla., scene -- they rounded out the lineup in 2004 with drummer Mikey Martin and vocalist Carah Faye Charnow. An early MySpace success story, they toured the U.S. in 2005 in support of their debut album, We Are Pilots, initially released on Stormwest International. Perhaps the landing gear wasn't working, because later that year Shiny Toy Guns re-recorded the album, this time for SideCho Records. But listeners along for the ride didn't unbuckle their seatbelts until 2006, when the band once again redid the album for its major-label debut on Universal. Though it only climbed to No. 90 on the Billboard 200, the album earned them a Grammy nomination for Best Electronic/Dance Album and landed three songs -- including "Le Disko," a sassy blast of punk-spirited electro -- in the upper quarter of Billboard's Modern Rock charts. They followed up with Season of Poison in 2008 and Girls Le Disko, a remix collection, the year after. - Philip Sherburne

Pet Shop Boys

Sat, 26 Dec 2009 10:03:54 -0800

The Pet Shop Boys survived one-hit wonder status after the mega success of "West End Girls" by bringing elegant melancholy, ironic humor and cinematic orchestrations to electronic Euro-Dance. While Chris Lowe handles the BPMs and all the electronic gadgets, much of their success is due to Neil Tennant, who has a detached, John Lennon-esque vocal style and a love of such downbeat troubadours as Joni Mitchell and Neil Young. While the excellent Behavior (1990) got them as far away from the dancefloor as they are ever likely to go, Nightlife sounds unimaginatively like the modern disco their critics believe them to hack out. - Nick Dedina

Eurythmics

Wed, 23 Dec 2009 13:31:04 -0800

Eurythmics were perhaps the greatest of the early-'80s British synth-pop bands, mixing a cynically business- and image-conscious approach with a sometimes soulful, mournful sound. Although Dave Stewart's studio wizardry provided the band's foundation, Annie Lennox's theatrical appearance and beautiful, icy wail ultimately were the duo's calling cards.

Lennox grew up in Aberdeen, Scotland, the only daughter of a bagpipe-playing shipyard worker. Her piano- and flute-playing skills won her a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music in London, but she quit on the eve of finals, disgusted with the school's pretensions. She spent three years working odd jobs in London and playing with a folk-rock band, a jazz-rock group, and a cabaret duo. A friend introduced her to Dave Stewart.

Stewart came from an upper-middle-class family in Northern England. By the early '70s his band Longdancer was signed to Elton John's Rocket Records but never accomplished anything. He then played in a variety of groups, which ranged from soul to medieval music. When he met Lennox he was writing music with a recluse named Peet Coombes.

Lennox and Stewart immediately began a musical and romantic partnership. With Coombes they formed a band called Catch, which shortly became the Tourists. The Tourists' three albums (The Tourists, 1979; Reality Effect, 1979; Luminous Basement, 1980) mixed folk, psychedelia, and new wave. A cover of the Dusty Springfield hit "I Only Want to Be With You" was a big hit in England (Number Four U.K., 1979), but barely made it into the U.S. Hot 100 (Number 83, 1980).

When the band disintegrated in late 1980, so did Lennox and Stewart's romance. They continued to work together, however, and named their partnership after Eurythmics, a system of music instruction developed in the 1890s that emphasizes physical response. Their debut was recorded in Germany and featured Blondie drummer Clem Burke, members of Can and DAF, and Marcus Stockhausen, son of the avant-garde composer. Despite good reviews, it was weakly supported by their label.

Lennox and Stewart were committed to making the Eurythmics a solid business and artistic venture, however. In a makeshift studio that Stewart set up, they recorded Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) (Number 15, 1983), using an 8-track recorder and synthesizers. Though the first British single, "Love Is a Stranger," attracted some attention in clubs, it was the title track (Number One) that propelled the band to stardom.

As the singer for the Tourists, Lennox was a platinum blonde often called the British Blondie. Sick of that dolly image, Lennox wore an orange crewcut and a man's suit in the Eurythmics' early work. When the band performed at the 1984 Grammys, she dressed like Elvis. In the video for "Who's That Girl?" she plays a chanteuse who leaves a club with her butch alter-ego; at the end, she-Annie kisses he-Annie.

Touch (Number Seven, 1983) yielded "Here Comes the Rain Again" (Number Four, 1984), but Eurythmics' next release, the soundtrack for 1984 (the film based on George Orwell's novel), was a disappointment. The film's director complained on a televised awards show that he had been forced to use the band's music, and the single "Sexcrime (Nineteen Eighty-four)" was widely misinterpreted. Lennox suffered another public humiliation when she married a Hare Krishna and divorced him a year later. But Be Yourself Tonight (Number Nine, 1985) returned the band to the public grace, showcasing Lennox's soulful vocals in a duet with Aretha Franklin, "Sisters Are Doin' It for Themselves" (Number 18, 1985). The album also yielded the hit single "Would I Lie to You" (Number Five, 1985). On Revenge (Number 12, 1986), the Eurythmics went for an arena-rock sound and produced their last Top 20 single, "Missionary Man" (Number 14, 1986).

In 1987 Stewart married singer Siobhan Fahey, formerly of Bananarama and later half of the duo Shakespear's Sister. Many critics considered the Eurythmics to have run out of steam on We Too Are One (Number 34, 1989), so it was not surprising when Lennox announced that she was taking a couple years off from music to work for a homeless charity. She had delivered a stillborn baby in 1988 and wanted to devote time to her family (she is married to filmmaker Uri Fruchtmann, with whom she's since had two children). In 1992 she released Diva (Number 23, 1992), a platinum-selling solo album that received three Grammy nominations. Stewart, meanwhile, had already released one soundtrack album, Lily Was Here, and put together the band Spiritual Cowboys, which included drummer Martin Chambers (Pretenders). He has also produced records for Daryl Hall, Tom Petty, Mick Jagger, and Bob Dylan. In 1995 Stewart released his first real solo album, Greetings From the Gutter>, a modern Ziggy Stardust–like opus with a funky backing band (Bootsy Collins is on bass). A pop-rock followup, Sly-Fi, appeared in 1998.

Lennox and Stewart hadn't spoken with each other for four years when she called in 1997 to inform him of the death of their former Tourists bandmate, Peet Coombes. The conversation got the duo talking again; later, while rehearsing for an acoustic performance at a party for a mutual friend, they began writing new material together. Peace (1999), the album that grew out of those sessions, was the first new Eurythmics LP in 10 years and found Lennox's supple, powerful alto fully intact. It also eschewed the catchy, electro-pop of the duo's '80s heyday in favor of lushly orchestrated ballads focusing on the pair's musical and prior romantic partnership. After the record's release, Stewart and Lennox played a series of dates, most of them in Europe, the proceeds of which went to Amnesty International and Greenpeace.

from The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll (Simon & Schuster, 2001)

Culture Club

Wed, 16 Dec 2009 11:56:24 -0800

Boy George's foppish fashion sense may have won Culture Club their exposure, but his soulful tenor was the real deal. Culture Club were linked with early '80s synth pop, but a quick re-listen to such hits as "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me" demonstrate that at their core they were an ultraslick, Philly soul-fueled Pop band. Culture Club lost their footing when they tried to move away from soul into straight dance, and teens quickly got bored seeing a man dressed as a woman. Boy George's personal demons tore up the band and his solo career has been a spotty affair, careening from modern disco to proto-punk to folk pop. On the surface, the tart-tongued Boy may be the life of the party, but underneath lies a fine-tuned soul man.

Paul Hardcastle

Tue, 1 Dec 2009 09:48:00 -0800

Perhaps he is forever to be best known as the man who brought electro-funk and Vietnam together in 1985's "19" but Paul Hardcastle has proven to be a studio innovator and an enduring contributor to the world of lite funk. His earlier '80s work showed an interest in R&B and the emerging sounds of hip-hop. His unlikely hit "19" brought massive amounts of attention to this English studio wizard, resulting in the equally unlikely combination of funk and the voices of English stalwarts Bob Hoskins and Lawrence Olivier. More at home behind the scenes, Paul Hardcastle has kept busy composing television themes for the BBC as well as releasing several albums under the pseudonyms Jazzmasters and Kiss the Sky, among others. - Jon Pruett

Thompson Twins

Fri, 25 Dec 2009 11:17:23 -0800

- Chad Driscoll

a-ha

Thu, 3 Sep 2009 10:33:47 -0700

It's hard to say which had more of an impact, the single "Take On Me" or its accompanying video. Either way, a-ha's spot in the pantheon of 1980s bubblegum Synth Pop is guaranteed. Composed of an electronic bass-pulse, a clattering drum sound and singer Morten Harket's near-yodel falsetto, the Norwegian trio's sound has 1985 written all over it. Subsequent forays into smooth, adult-oriented love-pop proved unsuccessful in the U.S. and they sank into obscurity. Nevertheless, the band is featured on virtually any collection that has the words "'80s" and "Hits" in the title, and their ebullient, strangely European pop will forever remain just under the surface of the public consciousness. - Mike McGuirk

Erasure

Sat, 26 Dec 2009 10:04:00 -0800

Have there ever been more perfectly soulful, bittersweet vocals than Andy Bell's disco diva melodies? Erasure was one of the first bands in the overwhelming wave of '80s Europop that was out of the closet and into the mainstream. After leaving Depeche Mode and Yaz, Vince Clarke somehow managed to create something even more dancefloor-driven than his previous work -- tapping into the overwhelmingly hypnotic repetitions of mid-1980s gay club music. But what took Erasure beyond the DJ picks was their jubilant synthesizer orchestras; synthetic vibrations so palpable they become eros-driven and organic, paired with Bell's vaulting, despairing voice. They continue to create something at once sparkling and aching, lush with the sounds of ecstatic hedonism never forgetting the heart's pain that too often accompanies an evening's lust or a lifetime of marginalized desires. - Marc Kate

The Human League

Fri, 18 Dec 2009 12:08:54 -0800

One of the highlights of British Synth Pop is in fact not simple synthesizer melodies, but attention to vocal harmonies. This is especially true for the Human League. The charm of their first hit, 1981's "Don't You Want Me," lies mostly in its unforgettable, highly emotional narrative delivered through deadpan vocals that harmonize like the Beach Boys. Even when the subject matter was desperate, their male and female vocal exchanges always maintained either a New Romantic cool or the emotional distance of a Godard character. But this is not to give their instrumentation short shrift: at their peak, their driving basslines, post-Disco beats and keyboard symphonics were unmatched and a perfect match for their vocal depth. - Marc Kate

The Fixx

Tue, 22 Dec 2009 10:24:17 -0800

80s English hitmakers the Fixx take us back to a more innocent age when feathered hair was all the rage, you came home after school and played Atari, and 64 K of RAM was enough for everyone. - Jennifer Maerz

Berlin

Fri, 25 Dec 2009 11:17:26 -0800

There is comfort to be found in consistency. Berlin's Terri Nunn took the breath of a whole generation away with Pleasure Victim in the synth-crazed '80s. They call it "electronica" now and Berlin are still making it. - Nick Dedina

Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD)

Wed, 16 Dec 2009 11:55:51 -0800

Howard Jones

Fri, 25 Dec 2009 11:17:26 -0800

Howard Jones scored some of the biggest, most easily recognizable hits of the 1980s and in the process introduced new wave synth pop to easy listening airwaves. Trans-Atlantic chart-toppers "Things Can Only Get Better" and "What Is Love" showcased Jones's soaring soprano and keyboard finesse. When New Wave's Aquanet glory days capitulated to fads of the nineties, Jones was forced out of the limelight, but he continued to perform and record. Trading in his synthesizer for a piano, Jones's sound became increasingly intimate, eschewing techno-tinsel for a more organic feel. His 1998 release People is not only one of his most mature, but also his most eclectic. The album incorporates strong jazz elements and dabbles in exotic world music rhythms. - Chad Driscoll

Magnetic Fields

Sat, 10 Oct 2009 10:13:29 -0700

Sharing an ethos with Bill Callahan of Smog, Stephin Merritt mines a personal talent for turning out wry, darkly beautiful tales in the Lo-Fi home-recordist tradition. Yet even without his signature irony and studio prowess, Magnetic Fields -- a name he's worked under since 1990's debut Distant Plastic Trees -- are an intuitive pop experiment rife with disarmingly well-crafted melody. Creating not only syrupy synth pop that draws textural comparisons to Brian Eno and Gary Numan, but also organic, acoustic-bred Indie pop complete with cello, flute, tuba, and his haunting baritone, Merritt is a stylistic and sonic archivist bent on bending others' aural signatures to compliment his own production talents and shadowy lyrical pretense. The results are often stunning, lending credence to Merritt's status as one of indie rock's most influential and appreciated talents. - Kelly Bauman

A Flock of Seagulls

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:51:08 -0800

These '80s rock mavens descended on the New Wave scene like pigeons on popcorn -- they came to clean up, and clean up they did. On the strength of a single hit, "I Ran," the Gulls epitomized all that was right about floppy hair and dizzy, layered synthesizers. Fortunately for the nostalgic, the band hasn't flown the coop: a truncated version of the original band continues to perform their rhythmic dance/rock, complete with soaring electric guitars and their trademark synths. - Sarah Bardeen

Gary Numan

Tue, 29 Dec 2009 10:23:24 -0800

With one hand on a Minimoog, and the other in a William S. Burroughs novel, Gary Numan became one of the most influential artists in synth pop. His signature sound is a wall of perfectly oscillating analog synthesizers running through simple melodies and generating tremendous alien drones. Accompanying these electric textures is his disaffected, plaintive voice. His lyrics create a world of technological and sexual alienation, drawing tensions between past and future, self and other. His songs are like the tears of a clown, fronting pop exuberance and melodies while cold, melancholic words and harmonies lay gloomily in the back. - Marc Kate

Soft Cell

Tue, 29 Dec 2009 10:23:24 -0800

One of the earliest and most successful synth pop groups, Soft Cell first burst onto the early '80s electro dance scene with such hits as "Tainted Love," "Memorabilia" and "Sex Dwarf." Made up of singer/songwriter Marc Almond and producer Dave Ball, the duo released a total of three albums before breaking up in 1984. Ball went on to found the famed techno outfit, the Grid. Almond formed Marc and the Mambas, and then Marc Almond and the Willing Sinners before finally embarking on a successful solo career. In March 2001 --17 years after their split -- the two reunited for a Soft Cell concert in London. The success of the show led to the recording and release of 2002's Cruelty Without Beauty. That same year, Almond was involved in a near-fatal motorcycle accident, putting future work with Soft Cell on hold. - Jamie Sanchez

Yaz

Tue, 29 Dec 2009 10:22:49 -0800

This synth-pop duo, fronted by the throaty Alison Moyet, had four British hit singles in their two years together. (In the States they're known as Yaz, but in their native UK it's Yazoo.) Co-founder Vince Clarke left Depeche Mode in 1981 to form Yaz. Clarke wrote one of Yaz' biggest hits, "Only You," for Depeche Mode, but they didn't want it. After Yaz, Moyet went solo and Clarke went on to form Erasure with Andy Bell.

ABC

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 11:55:08 -0700

During the first half of the '80s, ABC's catchy, synth-driven Dance Pop scored a number of chart hits around the world, although the band's popularity was strongest in their native Britain. Frontman Martin Fry's pin-up looks lent him to glossy teen mags and MTV audiences ready to devour the next big thing. That, coupled with ABC's R&B-influenced Synth Pop (featuring strong hooks and memorable choruses) resulted in a one-two combination that knocked audiences out. For a while, anyway. ABC's popularity waned with the passing of the decade. - Linda Ryan

Thomas Dolby

Tue, 29 Dec 2009 10:23:21 -0800

Appropriately enough, Thomas Dolby got his start in rock 'n' roll as a sound tech before becoming a synth wiz highly sought after by performers as disparate as Lene Lovich, Foreigner, Def Leppard and Joan Armatrading. Like a flare in the night sky, Dolby's solo career rocketed upwards, burned brightly and quickly fizzled on the strength of 1982's "She Blinded Me with Science" -- the hit single for which he will forever be fondly remembered by new wave buffs. ("SCIENCE!") Still, his album The Flat Earth, with its graceful fusion of jazz and electronics, deserves more than ironic attention. - Charles Hodgkins

She Wants Revenge

Wed, 9 Dec 2009 10:53:43 -0800

By the early 2000s, young bands started looking to the post-punk progenitors of the early 1980s for stylistic inspiration. The Los Angeles-based She Wants Revenge came relatively late in this cycle, while drawing almost as much inspiration those dark alternative lords of Interpol as from earlier purveyors like Joy Division, Bauhaus and the Cure. A couple of other things separate the duo from their revivalist peers: one is they're primarily keyboard-based, though guitars are still an integral part of their sound. The other difference is their glittery-yet sleazy lyrics which deal with supermodel and strip show imagery as much as the cold chill surrounding troubled relationships and damaged psyches. She Wants Revenge's self-titled debut was released in early 2006 and while almost every song on the album lifts different signature elements from the band's musical heroes, they are still very good at what they do. - Nick Dedina

Talk Talk

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 13:05:40 -0800

What began as an exotic New Wave band in the early 1980s evolved into one of the most emotionally-wrought, highly orchestrated groups pop has ever produced. Guided by Mark Hollis' voice and evocative songwriting skills, and the lush production of Tim Friese-Green, Talk Talk moved away from pop songs that hid something complex under a simple exterior to album-length compositions that touch the sublime. Hollis, whose voice wavers between deep suffering and absolute rapture, sings and whispers lyrics that float through the air with the fragility of burning parchment. Citing John Coltrane and Can as primary inspirations, Hollis' songwriting became more abstract, eschewing hooks for atmospheres and traditional structures for emotion. Their 1991 swan song Laughing Stock is an apotheosis of movement between sorrow and exaltation, quiescence and overwhelming instrumentation. With that, they said all they needed to say and fell forever silent.

Nena

Tue, 29 Dec 2009 10:23:19 -0800

Naked Eyes

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 13:05:40 -0800

Dead Or Alive

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:51:01 -0800

Dead or Alive is the brainchild of flamboyant androgyne Pete Burns. Thanks to his vampy charisma and impressive vocal range, the band enjoyed a fair amount of success in '80s New Wave circles as the darker, deeper stepsister of Culture Club. "You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)" and "Brand New Lover" were both MTV staples and disco anthems. - Chad Driscoll

La Roux

Fri, 18 Dec 2009 12:07:43 -0800

La Roux roughly means "red-haired one" in French. But this is a duo, not just a front for sharp, ginger-tressed lead singer Elly Jackson. Jackson and her bandmate Ben Langmaid met through mutual friends in 2006. Each brought a distinctive musical background to the table: Jackson was raised on folk artists like Nick Drake and Joni Mitchell (and in fact, La Roux started out making acoustic music under the name Automan). Meanwhile, Langmaid was a music scene veteran, having done much of his earlier work with best friend Rollo Armstrong (Faithless mastermind and brother of Dido). After working for a number of years to hone their aesthetic and their debut, La Roux settled on a sleek '80s synth-pop style. A handful of buzz-worthy singles ("Quicksand," "In for the Kill" and "Bulletproof") preceded the duo's debut, which dropped in June 2009. - Rachel Devitt

Men Without Hats

Fri, 18 Dec 2009 12:08:09 -0800

Fever Ray

Wed, 23 Dec 2009 13:30:59 -0800

After the Knife released Silent Shout in 2006, Olof Dreijer intimated that it'd be another five years before the brother-sister duo sliced its way through the studio again. Maybe so, but sister Karin Dreijer Andersson apparently had plans of her own. Not three years later, she returned as Fever Ray, a solo project featuring co-production from Swedish electronica producer Christoffer Berg. What might be most surprising about the project is how closely it recalls Silent Shout: Olof, an avowed fan of minimal techno and ominous electro, was credited with the Knife's eerie electronic sound, but Fever Ray's debut sounds uncannily like the duo's dark, delirious swoon. The arpeggiated trance passages are gone, and Karin doesn't rely as heavily on spooky vocal effects. But on the blasted Americana of "If I Had a Heart" and "Dry and Dusty," she still uses pitch-shifting to sound less (or more) than human. Even when she foregoes electronic processing, she still comes across like a kohl-eyed banshee blown into our world on the winds of the apocalypse. Cryptic, spirited and not a little terrifying, Fever Ray confirms Andersson as an unusually compelling voice, as surprising as she is consistent. - Philip Sherburne

Alphaville

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 11:04:03 -0800

In the mid-1980s, getting through high school without listening to Alphaville's "Forever Young" was about as difficult a feat as getting through high school without a pimple. While many German dance bands of the era pursued the EBM course, Alphaville coolly waltzed along, playing swooning, romantic Synth Pop in the tradition of Roxy Music and Ultravox. Marian Gold's preening vocals provided the lush backdrop to many an evening of teen whoopee. During the '90s, Alphaville of course attempted to reinvent themselves with a string of "mature" albums that only succeeded in pointing out their irrelevance. But hey, wasn't it grand while it lasted? - Chad Driscoll

When In Rome

Wed, 2 Dec 2009 11:07:10 -0800

Frankie Goes to Hollywood

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 11:00:35 -0700

Though a very brief pop cultural phenomenon in the mid-1980s, Frankie Goes to Hollywood were a spanner in the works of the music industry. The artist-as-commodity shtick has existed forever, but when the label ZTT got behind this band, they made Malcolm McLaren's media manipulations look like a quiet, shady backroom deal. Frankie Goes to Hollywood were force-fed to the masses without shame. Self-reflexive marketing techniques took a hard, ironic stance as millions were poured into promotions that mixed anti-war sentiments (the song "Two Tribes" and a cover of Bruce Springsteen's "War"), Fluxus-inspired merchandise and very obvious homoeroticism. Their sound, spearheaded by the banned lyrical sexuality of their first hit "Relax," is a fusion of Hi-NRG and Synth Pop that hit dancefloors much harder than almost anything else the charts had to offer. What made Frankie Goes to Hollywood so successful was that for all the media's noise about them, they produced a handful of tracks that were dancefloor perfection. - Marc Kate

Ultravox

Tue, 29 Dec 2009 10:23:01 -0800

Right Said Fred

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 12:04:28 -0700

Right Said Fred's fifteen minutes of Dance Pop fame peaked with the 1992 single "I'm Too Sexy." Throaty, New Wave-ish male vocals delivering sexually suggestive lyrics thread in and out of bright, body-pleasing beats, dreamy synths and dense piano riffs. May induce sugar shock. - Melissa Piazza

The Presets

Wed, 2 Sep 2009 12:06:35 -0700

Australian-based dance-rock duo the Presets formed in 2003, when vocalist and keyboardist Julian Hamilton and drummer Kim Moyes began a side project of Aussie rock band Prop. Both were involved in myriad other projects in Sydney's music scene, so the band didn't release a debut until 2005's Beams, which was a critical success. - Nate Cavalieri

Art of Noise

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 15:22:59 -0800

The Art of Noise were one of the most revolutionary sounds in early '80s dance music. They created complex, confounding collages of every genre in the spirit of early hip-hop, but their breaks were undisciplined, unwieldy and uncanny. As jazz horn blasts collided with cartoonish voices and crushing Industrial beats with syrupy synthesizers, their music seemed as much a mockery of music as a brilliant example of it. (The accompanying video for ÂClose [to the Edit]Â had them destroying a grand piano with a chainsaw.) Their glib, catchy loops and samples made for perfect dance music, despite their comic value. They continued to evolve through the decade, creating sounds for both the dance floor and chill room until they disbanded at the turn of the decade. They recently reunited to pay homage to French composer Claude Debussy -- who evolved a formative approach to harmony -- and they continue to be a major sampling source and inspiration for sampladelic music. - Marc Kate

Peter Schilling

Tue, 29 Dec 2009 10:23:24 -0800

Kim Wilde

Wed, 16 Dec 2009 11:56:24 -0800

Yello

Tue, 29 Dec 2009 10:23:18 -0800

Information Society

Wed, 2 Dec 2009 11:07:18 -0800

Together from the late 1980s to the early '90s, Minnesota-based quartet Information Society saw numerous chart hits throughout the length of their career. Best known for such radio/club crossover debuts as "What's on Your Mind (Pure Energy)" and "Walking Away," these Electro-oriented anglophiles evolved over the years from a clean Pet Shop Boys-inspired Synth Pop sound to a brooding Industrial Dance/hip-hop hybrid that made little effort to convert new fans. - Melissa Piazza

Sparks

Tue, 22 Dec 2009 10:24:23 -0800

Sparks were doomed to obscurity from the beginning in their native U.S. Like Oscar Wilde and the turn-of-the-century decadents and dandies who inspired the Mael brothers, scandal both brought them fame and prevented the public from taking them seriously. Vocalist Russell Mael played the rock star with all the flamboyance of a peacock, while songwriter and keyboardist Ron Mael contrasted his brother's excesses with his ascetic scowl and Hitler mustache. The latter's favorite ploy has always been exposing people squirming in insecurity behind screens of wealth, vanity, professionalism and mediocrity.

Sparks enjoyed its first commercial success in the U.K. with 1974's Kimono My House, an album of neo-romanticism meets prog. rock, which reached number four in the U.K. In 1979, after a brief decline in popularity in Europe (and still little notoriety in their native U.S.), the duo called on the production talent of legendary producer Giorgio Moroder for No. 1 In Heaven, a celestial stairway of rapturous melodies heavily greased with irony and black humor, and which would later influence the synth pop of Depeche Mode and Pet Shop Boys. Though in the 1980s and beyond the Maels tended to settle for synth-driven chintz over rock 'n' roll substance, their music still retains the stinging wit that gives it savor. In 2006, the Mael brothers returned with Hello Young Lovers, an album of cheeky operatic prog. rock melodrama. - Chad Driscoll

Split Enz

Thu, 10 Dec 2009 10:51:54 -0800

Animotion

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 12:39:30 -0800

Wall of Voodoo

Fri, 6 Nov 2009 12:47:21 -0800

Young Love

Wed, 29 Apr 2009 15:31:23 -0700

Just a few short years ago, singer-songwriter Dan Keyes was plugging away at life as the frontman for the Austin screamo outfit Recover. Sure, Recover was a successful, up-and-coming band and Keyes was helping them sensitively scream their way to the top. But Dan Keyes wanted more. Secretly, Dan Keyes just wanted to -- and we quote, from 2007's Too Young to Fight It -- "dance, dance, dance." So when a friend called to offer Keyes a free room in his New York City apartment, the former rage rocker grabbed his guitar and a suitcase and headed off to the Big Apple to make his dreams come true. There he spent a couple of months waiting tables, writing songs, and creating his one-man synth-rock dance band Young Love, biding his time until Island Def Jam signed the band in late 2005. An EP, some high-profile opening gigs, and a couple YouTube videos later, Young Love released their 2007 debut, Too Young to Fight It, a hyperactive, hypersensitive exhibition of Keyes' affinity for both kinds of music: neo-new wave and emo. - Rachel Devitt