The Neon Droid - No More Sunset

(Self-release 2017)

Here is a fun idea--take the Miami/California sunshine and palm trees cliche and turn it upside down, so it is a nightmare instead of a dream. That is what The Neon Droid sets out to do on the final chapter of his Sunset Trilogy, No More Sunset.



I have to admit it's a great conceit. As much as I like the whole MPM subdivision of synthwave, at some point you get it: beaches and sunshine were great in the '80s. I enjoy the way Neon Droid pokes fun at that. While the liner notes promise "no happy ending just blood, tears and suffering," No More Sunset is actually quite fun and doesn't seem to take itself too seriously. That's a good thing.

While conceptually fabulous, I thought the compositions were on balance a bit disappointing. The title track is solid cyberpunk-inspired darksynth, while "Apex One" is a neat slice of outrun. On the other hand, "Goodbye Paradise Bay" centers on a chord progression that I found irritating, while "Love" has some Hi-NRG embellishments that are great in theory, but just didn't click for me. "Planet Neon" is sort of darksynth-meets-psytrance, which is not an aesthetic I care for. And while "Mona Lisa Overdrive" starts off really atmospheric (in a Shadowrun Returns sort of way), it then devolves into new school darksynth cliches.

Overall, this is a smart and interesting release that doesn't quite live up to the promise of its concept.

Score: 6.5