14 Best Synthwave Albums You MUST Listen To
13. Hollywood Burns - Invaders (2018)
Hollywood Burns is the answer to the probably-never-asked, "What would a Tim Burton cyberpunk film sound like?". Imagine if Danny Elfman had decided to quit Oingo Boingo to hang out with Giorgio Moroder instead, and you're beginning to get the picture.
What sets Hollywood Burns' debut aside from other synthwave albums is the homage it pays tribute to. Whilst 90% of the genre draws inspiration from 80's science fiction, HB goes a bit further back to the B movies of the 1950's and 60's. It creates a curious yet brilliant blend of brooding and melodic synth music, with a strong lean to the theremin-esque styles of tin spaceships and rayguns of yesteryear.
It's as if someone was carrying the analogue tapes to Mars Attacks! down a corridor one way, and Blade Runner the other, and they collided. So in the confusion, one track got laid over the other to create this hybrid of decade-spanning sci-fi synthwave, which doesn't sound like it should work, but it does.