Voltage Control

God bless the analog synth. And God bless the fact that it has made such a welcome comeback over the last couple years — not that it ever went away as far as I’m concerned — but it gives bands like Voltage Control a chance in hell to get a mention here and there. Slick production and clean-sounding synth-pop are sugar to the ears here. But don’t think Depeche Mode synth-pop, or Apoptygma Berzerk synth-pop either. This is somewhere between the two. Largely without vocals, these 15 songs are ’80s meets future-pop meets prog — the good, mid-’70s, bad-satin-pantsuits prog that laid so much of the groundwork for the synth action we know and love today. Blips and bleeps and samples are dropped in throughout while clanging, early industrial type pieces like "Corporation Killer” provide some diversity. They explore all possible sounds different synthesisers can make on this record, so gear-heads, go nuts. Favourite moment: when the eight-minute long "Eighty-X” breaks into this beautiful ’80s feel-good, airy synth loop that repeats itself for the last few minutes. You can’t help but grin and enjoy. And don’t hit stop before the especially sci-fi-sounding hidden track.