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about this album
Synths are coming back. Maybe they never left, but for now, they are here, and dominating the new wave of music. Analog synths, digital synths, polyphonic, monophonic, vintage, modern, the works. Sometimes, synths can be cheesier than an olympic size fondue pot, but in a lot of cases, synths work. One thing is certain, the Bang Bangz know how to make synths work to their advantage. The first track on the album, Voltron, starts off with some layered synth and keys, which I assume are sampled and given life with Elizabeth Salazar’s (keyboards and vocals) Akai MPK45. I am a fan of the Akai MPK series, and I am glad to see someone else using them. Salazar’s vocals are a bit buried in the mix, but that doesn’t feel inappropriate considering she is sharing the space with the textures provided by the synths. The second track, The Last Day on Earth, is more of a guitar track, with a clean guitar strumming along on single string notes in what an unlearned critic would consider to be “surf” like. The vocals are shared between Mario Rodriguez (guitars and vocals), and Salazar. It’s short, quick, and to the point. Lions has a really soft and nostalgic feel to it. The synths are dreamy, layered, and the drums keep the pulse in between variations and fills on beats. The vocals are handled by Rodriguez on this track, and he does a fantastic job. Nothing feels forced, and the melody is worthy of repeated listenings. Salazar does some dreamy, ambient back ups that are buried beneath the col
