Review by Andy Hawes for MPM
Since the mid-late 2000s, a new microgenre of music usually called ‘Synthwave’ has become increasingly popular. Its main influences were the soundtracks associated with 1980s B-movies and video games in the horror and action genres and, unsurprisingly, a lot of it is very much based within synthesizers and drum machines.
However, in recent years, the trend has shifted and a number of artists working within the genre have begun to add a greater Rock edge to their sound, with guitars and even real drums creeping into the overall mix, with a greater use of vocals within the songs and At 1980 are one of the best acts currently pedalling this kind of thing. Forget to Remember is their third full studio offering and it expertly recreates and updates the sounds and themes of the more Pop-Rock 80s movie soundtracks with a sound that is very much Soft-Rock/AOR rather than straight Synthwave.
At 1980 is the brainchild of Madrid-based multi-instrumentalist Adrian Quesada Michelena who has linked up with UK-based vocalist Josh Dally, a man blessed with a quite glorious Pop-Rock/AOR voice and the results are rather good!
Forget to Remember opens with the short instrumental track ‘Lost In Time’ a delicious wash of pianos, synth pads and heavily chorused clean Stratocaster guitars, enhanced by delicate lead guitar melodies. Already, you find yourself transported back in time 40 years to a movie set in Smalltown USA. At 1980 are assisted on this album by legendary Dutch Synthwave artist Timecop 1983 (who is well worth checking out!) and the gorgeous retro keyboards that characterise this album are clearly in part down to his expertise.
‘Back To Me’ is next and introduces Josh Dally’s voice to the album for the first time. This is a quite wonderful slice of poppy AOR with one of those choruses that just sticks in your head from the moment you hear it. Lyrically, the track is very ‘80s movie love song’ and that is another characteristic of the entire genre. Fans of the softer side of AOR will love this and there is even a slight hint of Bryan Adams in Josh Dally’s vocal, especially on the higher notes.
‘Never Mine’ ups the ante in the keyboard layers department and introduces some delightful female lead vocals from Dana Jean Phoenix whose beautifully clear vocal on this classy power ballad could have been lifted off any 1980s soundtrack album. The skill with which the keyboards and guitars are layered is quite breath-taking and there is a really cool guitar solo in there too, with a very clean and heavily effected sound which is unexpected but very welcome.
Next up is the single ‘Still In Love’ which ups the tempo and kicks in the Rock guitars with an almost Def Leppard-esque opening riff on a monumental slice of AOR. Those colossal keyboard layers are never far away and Josh Dally’s vocal delivery is top-notch, with an absolutely soaring chorus that brings to mind cruising down a Pacific coastal highway with the top-down during an endless 1980s summer before ‘Your Secret’ continues this theme in another uptempo driving slice of 80s-esque AOR chock full of melody, chiming guitars and layer upon layer of retro keys.
‘Pieces of Me’ is another collaboration, this time with US Synthwave artist Shadowrunner and keeps the quality level high. The keyboards are particularly cool on this one, which is another AOR anthem which should sit behind a movie montage scene in which the (impossibly good looking) hero reminisces on life with his ex-love (with whom he’ll obviously reconnect by movie’s end!) Marvellous stuff!
‘Give A Little Love’ continues in the same vein as the rest of the album and is yet another excellent slice of keyboard-drenched power-ballad-esque AOR with another of those massive choruses and great use of dynamics in the production.
‘The Magic Wind’ is next and is a well put together instrumental track which is very cinematic in scope, before another collaboration, this time with Florida-based Synthwave artist Syst3m Glitch called ‘Somebody Else’ which puts more wonderfully retro keys at the centre of the sound on another slice of cinematic Retrowave AOR. The collaboration continues on ‘Let Me Go’ which is a superb power ballad duet which introduces the delightful vocal of Camille Glemet before the album ends with the powerful instrumental ‘Ab Aeterno.’
With Forget to Remember, At 1980 have produced an album which combines the best elements of Synthwave and unashamedly 80’s-esque Pop-Rock/AOR. The songwriting is consistently good and production and mix are full and powerful. It won’t be everyone’s cup of tea for sure, but for anyone who loves the softer side of AOR, or anyone who loves the sound of classic 80s movie soundtracks such as the one from the original Top Gun, it comes very highly recommended along with their previous two albums, Late Night Calls from 2021 and A Thousand Lives from 2020.
Go on, dip your toes into the wonderful world of Synthwave (or ‘Retrowave’ as it’s sometimes called) but be warned, it’s a deep rabbit hole full of some very cool music! You may be there a while…
Buy here: https://newretrowave.bandcamp.com/album/forget-to-remember
