Hey Now

Off the bat, I admire Siamese Youth for their pop-rock essence as it’s infused with the electronic details that a synth provides. The vocals hit me like a truck right away! I ADORE how the melody interacts playfully with the lyrics. There’s passion in the percussion that amplifies the intensity of the chorus, and the scene is set like a cult classic movie ballad montage. “Hey Now” is the ultimate lovestruck getaway track to run away to, or win back the beau of your dreams.

So Far from Home

The next track takes on a slower note, and while there are widely arranged chords to strike nostalgia, there’s a taste of modern retrowave here and there. The dazzling chimes in the wake of the progression make themselves known against the airy, breathy seduction of the vocals. These lyrics are wise and methodical, in the sense that there’s a conversation between either one and another, or with oneself. It reminds me of the challenges we face living life as a loner, resorting to escapism rather than facing our demons.

Young Nights

Ahh, Summer Lovin’ is upon us. “Young Nights” is the perfect vibe for infatuations, blind naivety, and true love. I love the stadium feel that each of these tracks provides so far from the echoes and reverb. Instantly I appreciate the sample at the start of the track, which is from the 1959 film “The House on Haunted Hill”. It’s a conversation between Vincent Price, as Fredrick Loren, and Annabelle (Carol Ohmart) regarding their surprise ghost party and their guests. Interesting choice for a track that is so uplifting and pop-centric. I would have sooner expected this to be used in a darksynth track!

Making Me High

Ooof, these funky beats are dangerous and I love it. A night at the disco is just what the Doctor ordered. I’m enveloped by the smooth twang of the keys, and it’s over for me, I’m locked in and ready for the dance floor. These references within the lyrics, such as “chemical romance” {in track one, “Hey Now”) and “call in the wild” makes me smirk each time I catch them. Getting high from the first bite makes me think of edibles, and how edible a person could be under the right circumstances, romantically speaking.

Can I Be Me

The track begins with stadium-like nuances. There’s an energetic fusion between the guitar and the echoes of the vocals. As the suspense begins to build, the electric chords of the synth radiate with the guitar. A brilliant arrangement from the kick-drum combined with the melody is elaborate and entrancing. I enjoy the way the lyrics passionately express a message we can all resonate with. In a world that praises people for being influential and fake, being yourself is and should be valued beyond all else.

Where the Sun Shines

It’s 80’s montage time again – and Siamese Youth doesn’t hold back from these epic vibes. The synth is “radical”, the drums are “bodacious”, and I feel myself slipping back in time. Visions of being a mall rat come swimming back, and there’s nothing holding me accountable for enjoying these highlights of youth. This song, I believe, is the ultimate testament to 2020, and how it discouraged our dreams, isolated us, and confused our foresight into the future. Even now, during an age of uncertainty, we’re reaching for the memories before covid. We took so much for granted, and I firmly believe that we’ll be ever more appreciative of the little things moving forward.

Let’s Love

A neo-disco melody introduces us to this light-hearted track, and the inter-galactic rhythm takes us for a ride through a love story within the lyrics. Its powerful pop chord placements grip me to the core and provide a taste of what Siamese Youth is trying to portray with this song. If I follow the lyrics, it’s like the make-up from a breakup conversation. Internally, it’s adding further ambiance to the funk, and smoothly transitions from what we know and what we remember about our own love stories.

Take On Me Too

I enjoy the main chorus of this track and the claps really tie it together from the start. There are playful chimes and chip-tune-like elements throughout that making this a special testament to retro-classic dance beats. Lyrics like these bring out the most in me, in that I can apply them to any scenario, and maintain a groove. The interwovenness of love’s lost appeal and a confessional tale elevate the overall tone, and for that, I can appreciate it further.

United States of the Mind

The unification of differences has become the influx of the song’s message, and I’m here for it. I enjoy the way Siamese Youth uses chiptune generously throughout the track, and have applied some subtle similarities to EDM in between. I’m grateful for the vocals in how they shine a light on current issues with heavenly serenade. Encased in this electro-pop feel is the realization that coming together is the answer to our country’s problems if taken literally.

In Love

When summer is nearing the end, the question remains if the love found will continue on. Such a song as this fits the bill and answers the question is this eternal or a letdown. The lyrics speak to the parts of us that have had to let go and uproot our conviction to see a relationship through its trials and tribulations. The percussions play on our heartbeats and the colorful chords keep us lukewarm after a cold realization that the love we had wasn’t what we hoped it was.

I’d like to sign off with a note that I enjoyed the uniqueness of this album, and the way Siamese Youth bridge the gap between modern and retro-classic 80’s references. I look forward to what they have in store for the future and welcome them into the fold as artists that started with a cover of “All the Small Things” (totally worth the listen, by the way)

Siamese Youth is a truly righteous duo, comprised of Mark Gritsenko and Christoph Hassel. Although this is only their second full-length album, their experience as musicians is immediately evident. Prior to Siamese Youth, Mark Gritsenko was the lead singer for the German rock back Marakesh, and Christoph Hassel is a seasoned songwriter, having acted as writer and producer for several different acts. The result of this experience is the high production value we hear on “Echoes of Tomorrow,” which almost seems to glisten as you listen.

The Siamese Youth Sound Get’s An Iconic Synthpop Upgrade

This album isn’t just shiny though, it’s better all around. The Siamese Youth sound has definitely had an upgrade, taking the best elements from their debut album “Electric Dreams” and improving on them. The tracks here are much more groovy, and they play with space more as well, with many of the tracks feeling very wide and impressive. “Electric Dreams” had its fair share of amazingly upbeat catchy tracks, but overall it seemed a bit laid back at its core. Siamese Youth have really come out of their shell, and take it to a whole other level in “Echoes of Tomorrow,” with certain tracks like ‘Can I Be Me,’ and ‘Young Nights’ sounding downright iconic.

Don’t get me wrong, “Electric Dreams” is a fantastic album, but “Echoes of Tomorrow” absolutely knocks it out of the park! All of these elements and vocals blend together even more to make an even better release, and the result is absolutely gorgeous, groovy, iconic synthpop and dreampop!

Similar to their debut “Electric Dreams,” “Echoes of Tomorrow” draws on elements of dreamwave, synthwave, and catchy pop vocals. This combination makes for some excellent dreampop, but with “Echoes of tomorrow,” the arrangements are even more upbeat and poppy – and also now infused with some chord progressions seen more in anthemic alt-rock. The additional influence of that stadium busting alt-rock iconic U2 sound plays extremely well with their synthwave and dreamwave roots, elevating it just that much more.

Siamese Youth recently explained a bit more about the transformation to their sound in an interview with The Big Takeover:

“I think our sound has developed a lot. Our approach was to make Echoes Of Tomorrow more mature, stronger and a bit rockier than Electric Dreams…Our first album was very introverted, dreamy and nostalgic. But on Echoes Of Tomorrow we extended the topics we write about a lot…. In many tunes, it was like writing a synthwave song and producing it nearly as a rock song. While our first album was more dreamy and we would even say a bit shy, this one is more of a clear sonic statement.”

“Echoes of Tomorrow” Almost Sold Out!

Overall, this is a truly fantastic album and not one to be missed. If you’re a fan of synthpop acts like The Midnight and Michael Oakley, or enjoy the rock, pop, and synthwave influences from Wolf Club, you will likely absolutely love Siamese Youth’s “Echoes of Tomorrow.”

Sadly, MiniDiscs and cassettes are already sold out – but Vinyl and CDs are still available! But they won’t be for long – grab your copy here today!

TOP PICKS

Street Cleaner – EDGE

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Microchip Terror – Illegal Experiments II

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WOLFCLUB – Just Drive (Part 1)

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Chiasm – Missed the Noise

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Ultrakiller – Death Trap

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Baldocaster – Cult of Saturn

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Castroe – Fall into You

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Galaxy 80 – Visions

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Siamese Youth – Echoes of Tomorrow

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Frank Redux – Memory Lane

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Honorable Mentions & Singles

Literature – Stoa

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Rupert Lally – Maniac’s Almanac

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Cyberoptics – Resurgence

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Austin Archer – Now That’s What I Call a Bunch of Austin Archer’s TikTok Songs Compiled Into an Album Vol​.​1

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Ev.exi & Rhodes Rodosu – Stellae / Infinitus

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Mecha Maiko – Kitchen Floor

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LukHash – Dying Breath

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Maxthor – Into the Light

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3FORCE – Alpha Prophecy

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Korine – Sunshine

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The Playlist

Well, the wait is finally over as “Echoes of Tomorrow” is set to release later this month on March 26th. “So Far From Home” and the other singles have offered us a taste of what the full album will be, and we’re pretty stoked! Filled with deliciously crafted synthwave and a breathy dreamwave vocals, “Echoes of Tomorrow” sounds like it’s going to be a fantastic release. Each of these tracks are chock-full of catchy leads that just feel like full on instant-classics – and judging from their beautiful NRW debut, “Electric Dreams,” this new album will be well worth the wait.

Siamese Youth recently did an interview for The Big Takeover, where they explained a bit more about the album:

“I think our sound has developed a lot. Our approach was to make Echoes Of Tomorrow more mature, stronger and a bit rockier than Electric Dreams…Our first album was very introverted, dreamy and nostalgic. But on Echoes Of Tomorrow we extended the topics we write about a lot…. In many tunes, it was like writing a synthwave song and producing it nearly as a rock song. While our first album was more dreamy and we would even say a bit shy, this one is more of a clear sonic statement.”

“Take On Me Too” is the first single from another album in the works – planned to release some time in 2021 on NRW Records. This track  features Siamese Youth’s signature extremely catchy and laid-back synthpop sound – this time with a more upbeat attitude. This track also features some exquisite production, really knocking the ball out of the park with some supreme retrowave synths and loads of delicious gated reverb.

If “Take On Me Too” is a good preview of  the album,  Siamese Youth is really cooking up something great!

Grab a listen here!

Honorable Mentions:

Brojak

Douze

Top 10 Retrowave Newcomers of 2019

10. Marsilius Kreutz

9. Vast Hill

8. Autokira

7. Lukhash

6. Florida Skyline

5. Siamese youth

4. SJ Bravo

3. Wayfloe

2. Yota

1. The Night Hour

Of course, the duo are not new to making music – Ukrainian Mark Gritsenko has been the lead singer for the German rock back Marakesh and Christoph Hassel is a seasoned songwriter. Taking cues from major synthpop acts like The Midnight and Michael Oakley, the Siamese Youth duo also grabbed two collaborations with Futurecop!, eventually leading to a release with NewRetroWave.

That debut -“Electric Dreams” – perfectly demonstrates the duo’s infectious hooks and tailored retro dreaminess. Every track seems to glow with a sense of neon-pop nostalgia that feels dramatically seasoned for a debut release.

The production on the album is clean and crisp, and drenched in melancholic pop vocals that sound much more contemporary, creating an interesting dichotomy of Dreampop or Dreamwave.

We expect to hear greater and greater releases from Siamese Youth as they grow into the Retrowave and Dreamwave sound – they are certainly an act to watch!

Top Tracks – “Coco,” “Dream On,” “Yesterday,” and “Nariyeh Thanei (feat. Futurecop!)”

Listen to “Electric Dreams” Here!

Being newcomers to the synth world and the newest signing of NewRetroWave, you would never expect the beautifully crafted “Electric Dreams” to be a debut release – with one track even featuring Futurecop!

This release has a solid base in synthpop, but drenched in neon dreamwave vibes and sprinkled with a hint of outrun and some unusual but perfectly placed samples. The result a stunning showing, reminiscent of acts like The Midnight and Michael Oakley – even making it to our top tracks of the week!

Check out the album here!

Friday afternoons mean one thing – the NRW Weekly Selection.
We’re striving to bring you the best of the best. From outrun to darksynth, we have your weekend covered!

The Midnight – Arcade Dreams (Timecop1983 Remix)

Nitewind – Skyline

Tonebox – Run

Siamese Youth – Coco

Magic Sword – Awakening