6.8
Synthwave band 8dz dram@x has a high-concept vision, especially the leadoff song “Who Are You?”––it’s a question that is asked by a robotic, dispassionate female voice and it sets the tone for a dark, dystopian soundscape filled with swelling synthesizers, frenetic drumming and a piledriving beat. That same beat propels “The Circle Chase,” a so-so instrumental. Sandwiched in between is the outlier, “Lost VHS”; though intro’d by the female narrator once again, the song is a dead ringer for an ‘80s Brit synth-pop tune, right down to the lead vocal. Overall, this band is kind of intriguing, but the listener expects the unexpected of a futurist project. Instead, what we’re hearing seems pretty familiar.
