Phono Ghosts & Sferro - Alive in the Timeless Void

(Fonolith 2018)

Are you one of those people who like to bang on about how synthwave needs to evolve? If so, you should know Sferro, who has been experimenting with the formula pretty much since he came on the scene. He's really never been just a synthwave artist (some of his music sounds closer to vaporwave, actually). So here he is teaming up with Phono Ghosts, an artist I had never heard of before, but will now take some time getting to know.   



I really can't say this is synthwave. It has some synthwave elements, but it's more just good electronic music with a retro '80s tinge. And it is good. Really good! The production quality is superb. Very clean and balanced, and thankfully not compressed to death like so many other new releases. The compositions are also quite good. "Guided by Vega" is probably my favorite, though I am also partial to "Wastelands of Outworld." Like Mitch Murder's latest, which I reviewed yesterday, Alive in the Timeless Void embraces the '90s as well as the '80s. And it also embraces the dance music DNA that so many other producers try to run away from. This release has a lot of character.

Score: 9.5