Synth music has become increasingly prevalent in recent years to the point of ubiquity. Some of it is great. Some is bad. Just in time for Halloween, let's take a look at some synth tracks that are downright sinful, whether they are delightful or dastardly. Here are the Seven Deadly Synths.
Gluttony:
Deadmau5—“Raise Your Weapon (Madeon Remix)”
“Raise Your Weapon” is simply too much synth. Deadmau5’s original is standard electronic dance music, but 20-year-old French producer Madeon’s remix turns it up to a whole new level. The song starts out innocuously enough, with singer Greta Svabo Bech cooing over a swirling haze of light synths while the chorus remains ethereal and non-propulsive. Then Madeon’s bridge kicks in, and all hell breaks loose. There are so many bells and whistles that it completely obscures the beat, and there is no place for the mind to focus. There are producers who make this kind of chaos artistically palatable—look at the glorious madness of Skrillex—yet “Raise Your Weapon” is the sound of a producer exhausting his bag of tricks for naught.
Other examples: “Olé”—Adelén, “Comeback Kid”—Sleigh Bells
Lust:
Kelly Rowland and Lil Wayne—“Motivation”
“Motivation,” despite its incredibly sinful subject matter, is arguably the most musically tasteful song on this list. Polow Da Don’s beat is magnificently spare, with icy electronic pings and a steady bass line that occasionally give way to a dramatic flourish of strings. It is a heady blend that sounds like a dance club in a cold cave. On top of all this, “Motivation” is the slowest of slow jams. The tempo is positively glacial, which, combined with Rowland’s emotional vocals, makes the song a prime example of synth-R&B done right.
Other examples: “I Feel Love”—Donna Summer, “Retrograde”—James Blake
Greed:
Taylor Swift—“Welcome to New York”
Taylor Swift had the country-pop game on lockdown, but that was not enough for the Swift Empire. Her excellent new album 1989 finds T-Swift taking over the pop game and eschewing her signature guitars for—gasp!—synths. This is not the train wreck some people might have anticipated, as Swift has often conformed to traditional pop structures. “Welcome to New York,” 1989’s opening salvo, is a great way to display her new commitment to pop and completely overshadows similar recent attempts made by Katy Perry. The synths are not the generic beeps and boops favored by less talented artists but carefully crafted homages to ‘80s artists like Annie Lennox and Phil Collins. The lyrics are a fun ode to New York, and Swift is her usual effortlessly personable self. She may be taking over other artists’ territory, but when she is doing it this well, why complain?
Other examples: “I Will Never Let You Down”—Rita Ora, “Starships”—Nicki Minaj
Sloth:
Iggy Azalea and Rita Ora—“Black Widow”
Synths that personify “sloth" are beats that anyone could make on a cheap keyboard or GarageBand and loop over and over again. These kinds of synths have the potential to sound layered and complex, like Grimes’ banger “Oblivion,” but the majority of Australian rapper Iggy Azalea’s output sounds lazy and boring. “Black Widow” is a particularly egregious offender of sloth synths. You would think an artist who has sold millions of records would be able to afford a halfway decent producer, but not Iggy Igz. “Black Widow”’s big “innovation” is a slightly pitched up version of the main synth line during Rita Ora’s chorus, which is as dull as it sounds. Iggy usually can do beats right—her new song “Beg For It” is very good—but not this time.
Other examples: “Pull My Hair”—The Ying Yang Twins, “We Belong To The Music”—Timbaland and Miley Cyrus
Wrath:
Pharmakon—“Bestial Burden”
“Bestial Burden” is easily the angriest song of the year—the sound of an artist on her last nerve. Pharmakon, the pseudonym of Brooklyn-based noise artist Margaret Chardiet, focuses entirely on raw fury as manifested through sound. “Bestial Burden”’s lyrics consist of almost indecipherable screaming—for example, “AGRHRHGRHRHRGRHRGRH”—yet it feels beautiful and natural due to the acrobatic nature of Chardiet’s voice. Thrashing, horrifying synths surround Chardiet in a maelstrom of dissonance. Pharmakon’s music is not easy listening, but there is beauty and craft to be found in all of the loud, loud noise.
Other examples: “Sail”—AWOLNATION, “Turn Down For What”—Lil Jon and DJ Snake
Envy:
Gwen Stefani—“Baby Don’t Lie”
Gwen Stefani does not need to reference other artists. After years of idiosyncratic songs from her band No Doubt and excellent solo albums, she is a true pop icon at this stage in her career. That is why it is a shame to see her steal blatantly from other artists in her new song “Baby Don’t Lie.” The beat is from a Rihanna song. The synth line is from a particularly sassy Ellie Goulding song. The chorus is from a Bruno Mars song. The only thing that really tells you that “Baby Don’t Lie” is a Gwen Stefani song is her typically nutty vocals with their whooping and yodeling. She is in a class of her own—she does not need to borrow from the generic songs of today to make her songs into hits.
Other examples: “Like A G6”—Far East Movement and Dev, “FALLINLUV2NITE”—Prince and Zooey Deschanel
Pride:
Shamir—“On The Regular”
“On The Regular,” an utterly fantastic blend of vocals and production, is one of the best songs of the year. Shamir’s androgynous countertenor sassily puts down his competition over a synth-based beat that sounds like thousands of rubber bands snapping in unison. The lyrics are incredibly boastful, and Shamir’s happy hubris is a great match for the exuberance of the beat. The bridge is the best part of the song: the way Shamir’s voice flutters over a propulsive yet abstract haze is utterly divine. Basically every Shamir song is like this—listen to his “If It Wasn’t True”—but “On The Regular” is clearly his best.
Other examples: “I Luh Ya Papi”—Jennifer Lopez and French Montana, “You and Me”—Disclosure and Eliza Doolittle
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