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Future Unlimited, despite their limited discography, can really bring on the 80’s new wave vibe. With singles like “Golden” and “Lightweight Eyes”, the Nashville duo has proven that they have the songwriting chops and mastery over their instruments to stand alongside retro hi-fi futurists like Crozet, M83, and Mirror Kisses. With “Calling (Intro)”, we get to vicariously experience the opening moments of a live Future Unlimited experience with an epic, foreboding instrumental piece that sets the cold, melodramatic mood for a John Hughes-esque 80’splosion. The restraint between the lines of icy rhythm and lead synth tracks is underscored as the jam progresses with the addition of a telltale bassline. Considering the scope and expanse of the overly emotional teenage dreams of that highly missed era, it’s only fitting that Future Unlimited’s unofficial live intro piece be packed to the gills with pathos. Do tha right thing, and grab a free MP3 download of “Calling (Intro)”, by Future Unlimited. If you like what you hear, be sure to check out the aforementioned singles, what we imagine are the tunes that come immediately after today’s featured track on the set list. Then cry yourself to sleep, because these fellows will never play in your town.

MP3 Download of “Calling (Intro)”, by Future Unlimited

Mirror Kisses’ latest release, Heartbeats, became officially available for purchase one month ago. His third full-length, Harrisonburg’s George Clanton (Mirror Kisses) appealed to his fans a few months ago to fund his Kickstarter page to get the album pressed to vinyl, and it appears that the goal was met, as hard 12” copies are slated to hit the mail rooms on or around June 10th. Building upon the dark 80’s-inflected dancefloor vibes of previous releases Soaking Wet and especially Bad Dreams, this collection of new wave numbers kicks off with an impassioned bang with single “Runaways”, released well in advance with the followup dreamwave ballad “Kameron”. Our favorite lesser-known standout, “Heart Beats Black”, is the unofficial title track, and with it comes a decidedly electronic edge to this new release. Soaked in the sound of Japan’s late 2000’s electronic shoegaze movement, the jam additionally features woozy synth tracks that one would only expect to hear on some VHS-laden beat tape from the summer of Washed Out and Neon Indian’s reign. “Shut Me Down”, another high point on Heartbeats, turns up the tempo, featuring Clanton’s retro crooning and whirling digital instrumentation in the vein of 18 Carat Affair’s decayed tape synth snippets. Upon first and second listen, it appears that Mirror Kisses’ sound is slowly becoming more and more heavily influenced by the sample-based vintage compositions of today’s rapidly growing posse of synthwave and vaporwave acts. The bass-heavy new wave guitarwork of Bad Dreams is just an afterthought here, as the whole New Order-and Pet Shop Boys-influenced darkwave/synthpop scene seems to be on its way out. Or at least it is for George Clanton. Either way, Heartbeats is a solid mixture of passionate uptempo bangers and slow 80’s reverberations, and we felt that it was well worth our money. If you’re a fan of Crozet, Lust for Youth, or Violens, do tha right thing and grab a free MP3 download of our favorite track from the album, “Heart Beats Black”, below. Afterwards, we highly recommend that you buy the album if you like what you hear, and grab a paid copy of Bad Dreams as well.

MP3 Download of “Heart Beats Black”, by Mirror Kisses (from Heartbeats)

This year-old synthwave jam by Bobby Tank is the stuff of Osamu Tezuka’s hyperactive dreams. While we’re often satisfied with nothing more than a faint whiff of that retro vibe, occasionally something is released that is so epic in scope and so all-encompassing in tone that it will probably never leave the rotation. Occasionally, such a monolithic masterpiece may even become the new go-to jam for an entire genre. The hi-fi action-packed neo-funk strain of today’s synthwave scene dominated by acts like Futurecop! could do to welcome another big player, and we believe that Bobby Tank is that contender. Musically trained and boasting affiliation with acts such as Rustie and Hudson Mohawke, Bobby Tank keeps it light and crisp in “Face of Love” with sharp, clean cut waves of synth and reverb-soaked vintage percussion. Additionally, the sass and soul of the reoccurring refrain coupled with the never ending energy really ranks “Face of Love” among the most fist-pumpingly definitive products of today’s modernized take on yesterday’s vibes. If you’re nearly finished with lazily sampled two-minute vaporwave slices of drudgery, or if you’re searching for something that’s iconic amongst all of the experimental electronic clusterfuckery, then you need this. Do tha right thing, and grab a free MP3 download of Bobby Tank’s “Face of Love” immediately, and then do humanity a favor and check out the rest of his work. We really really really want it all to be as good as this track.

MP3 Download of “Face of Love”, by Bobby Tank

The music of Miami Vice perfectly encapsulates that smooth 80’s vibe that we know and love, reserved only for the upper echelon of society. While he’ll never be able to top Jan Hammer’s original compositions for the titular TV series, the vaporwave artist will nonetheless regale us into infinity with his retro DOS-based re-imaginings of that golden age. “Yacht”, our favorite track from newly released Smooth Nights, ambles along haphazardly, like a fun drunk. Reminiscent of an 18 Carat Affair vignette, it’s akin to a really shitty ghettoblaster recording of that snapshot moment in your favorite tune that really gets your heart pumping. The pastel-colored retro synth tracks trip all over the bassline and reverb-soaked percussion in what amounts to the “ringtone worthy” section of some lost one-hit wonder. Miami Vice manages in the space of only a minute-and-a-half to remind us with “Yacht” what we dearly miss about the garish elitist capitalistic excess of the decade to end all decades. Do tha right thing, and grab a free download of Miami Vice’s Smooth Nights right this second, at least to have “Yacht” available at your beck and call for that next house party. We also highly recommend his previous release, Culture Island, if you like that airless, perfectly benign corporatist tone.

MP3 Download of “Yacht”, by Miami Vice (from Smooth Nights)