WIRLT 2: Dance with the Dead - Into the Abyss EP

Dance with the Dead's(DWTD from here on out) Into the Abyss was my introduction to synthwave as a genre and is their sophomore release following up the stellar Out of body album. They are a dynamic duo of Justin Pointer and Tony Kim, who have been active since 2013 and hail from Orange County, CA.

The entire album has that 80's action movie soundtrack feel to it. Right from the intro track battle it starts with a slow escalating synths and drums and then hits you in the face with the roar from the guitar like that of a rampaging dinasour. The track is very catchy and is usually the first I use to introduce anyone to what synthwave has to offer.

The next track moon runner has that slow drive like that from any good montage scene where the hero is finding themselves with some great synths backing up the beat.

Mask kicks it up a notch and has sort of a techno vibe to it. I love the echo effect to the sonar ping. It has an excitement to it and is what I imagine is the track that the cover art beat reflects. About 2/3rds of the way there is the faintest hint of a infected mushroom riff on the guitar and sounds superb.

Odyssey like many of the songs on this so starts slow and builds up to something stronger. The guitars are thicker here with longer sounding chords and would be the sort of track you would find when the buddy cops are in the car and on their way to kick some ass and catch the bad guy.

Suede can be best described as the dance track. It has a very up beat high tempo that grabs you right from the start and swings with you all across the floor. It has a very Beverley Hills cop sound and I dig it.

No survivors is the final track and is the slowest on the entire EP. It's the weakest of the tracks and just sort of brings it to a close.

Into the Abyss was an amazing and fitting intro to the synthwave genre and is a solid EP. It has been in constant rotation in my playlist for many years and is not likely to change any time soon.

Band links:

Bandcamp: dancewiththedead.bandcamp.com

Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/dancewiththedeadmusic

Twitter: @DWTDmusic

WIRLT: 1 Hazy Sea - Coast of the Immortals

Hazy Sea has been around since 2015 and is based out of Greece. An instrumental band that takes many cues from the greats of prog rock like Clapton or Pink Floyd, which as many of my more musically inclined friends know I am a huge fan of. The guitar work on this album is amazing and you can tell there is definitely some Gilmore influences saturating many of the solos. Every track is upbeat and makes for some great listening. Black seagull in particular has some of the best harmonies and guitar work making it a contender for top favorite on the album. I also really loved the distorted Western/bluesy feel of mud. Mojo river tilts the album on its head by shifting gears and bringing in steel guitar and some excellent banjo playing. The final track end of days is a beautiful send off to this amazing album. All in all a top notch album that will be seeing plenty of time in my playlist for years to come.

Favorite tracks:

1. Coast of the Immortals

3. West side of east

5. Black seagull

6. Mermaid

7. Mud

8. Seahorse rider

9. Mojo river

10. End of days

Band links:

Bandcamp: hazysea.bandcamp.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Hazy-Sea-104943806722415/