This is the new synth party in town — and it’s as aggressive as it is danceable
An intriguing new in heavy electronic music is a genre known as “dark synthwave”, and numerous artists that fall under its umbrella have been snarling their way into existence. It brings along the sounds of retro analog synths, thundering snares, and wildly vibrant guitars, possessed of a vibe reminiscent of action movies and old-school video games; a colleague of mine referred to it as “French musicians playing the best music for driving 100MPH in 80s cars”, and it’s a rather apt description. Players like Perturbator and Gost have made their way into the Bay Area in recent months, and closing out the month of March was Carpenter Brut, the one-man-masterpiece of one Franck Hueso (or “Frank B. Carpenter” as his live moniker) that mashes up the ideas of John Carpenter’s action/horror films with a blast of furious guitars and drums to drive the music at a fevered pace.