So who are the big synth bands these days?

Al Jarvis wrote: finally 'maturing' (if that's the right word?) into Erasure.

This is a Fcuking excellent thread because there is a definite starvation of synth bands as of late. Recently discovered The Postal Service album which is never off my car CD player.Ladytron are amazing live,although they are trying to gear towards festival rock on their newer stuff."Sugar" is more like Garbage than Ladytron. Air's Talkie Walkie is an excellent album,check out Surfing On A Rocket. And got to mention a grand-daddy of electro,who still can produce some good tunes,even if the LPs aren't all consistent....Mr John Foxx! His last album "Crash & Burn" particularly the title track,is definitely one for playing at full volume.Also "Ray One Ray Two" which is Plastic Bertrand on speed! Also Foxx & Louis Gordon's previous album,The Pleasures Of Electricity which is a great homage to Kraftwerk.

Synth bands: those that used synths fundamentally and are therefore synth-based as opposed to those who are guitar-based. New Order are quite rare in that they're both!

Big 'synth' bands currently? From a personal perspective I'd say Ladytron, Goldfrapp and Erasure, although you could probably add to that old stagers like The Human League, Sparks and John Foxx.

Goldfrapp's current album - their third - Supernature is easily one of the albums of the year and they're scoring another sizeable hit with Number 1 at the moment which is a top song (redolent of early Numan with some OMD and Yazoo thrown in). Ladytron delived their third album, Witching Hour, a short while ago. It's their first for their new label Island and their sound has moved on from the Kraftwerkian stuff of their debut, 604, and its sequel, Light & Magic. As yet they've not had a sizeable hit and the new material is a lot heavier and darker than their older material. They're a great band and I was at London's Koko a few weeks ago which was packed to the rafters. Both Ladytron and Goldfrapp are currently on tour.

Mr Foxx: yup, Crash & Burn is a cracking album and the stuff is both like his earlier Metamatic era stuff and different again. He's working on mastering the Nation 12 stuff he recorded with Bomb The Bass's Tim Simenon in the late eighties. His former band-mate from Ultravox, Billy Currie, is also grafting away on old Humania material for release. Humania were the short-lived but brilliant unsigned band Currie put together after Ultravox mark three fell apart (amid acrimony) in 1987.

Finally Sparks release their new album, Hello Young Lovers, on 6th Feb although how they'll beat their last one, Lil' Beethoven (2002), is anyone's guess as that's a masterpiece!

What is the biggest SYNTH available?

Roland system 100/system 700 Moog custom Modular, as owned by the late Dr Moog himself. T.A.N.T.O. (as operated by steve hillage/gong)

Not to mention Doepfer (sp?) who still make modular components and as such, you can make a synth as enormous as you like.

Digitals.... Synclavier's are kind large. PPG waveterm JD800 Yamaha DX1 (big inside too)

I'm off to have myself put down now.

ATR has played me a couple of Boards Of Canada EP's. They were very good. Ladytron as well. Still not got their last album but Destroy Everything You Touch is one of the tunes of the year.

Has anyone mentioned Client?

Thanks for all the responses! I've never even heard of some of the bands being recommended. I've got some catching up to do.

As far as a definition of "progressive synth pop" or "synth band" i would say any band that crafts pop music with a focus on synthesizers. I don't consider "synth pop" tied to any paricular moment in history.

New order were a "synth band" from PCL through Republic. I loved the way they merged drums and guitars in with the electronic sound, but make no mistake what separated New Order from Joy Division or who they've become today.

3:15 seconds into the Perfect Kiss you here what makes New Order so special and it ain't Hook's bass cause if it was then you'd think WFTSC was special :)

I was with you right up until you blasphemed. Hooky not special indeed. You know what makes New Order special? Having more than one special thing about them! It's OK to have God for a bassplayer, AND a couple of genius programmers. I still consider NO to be the bridge between fluffy synth pop and nasty dark club music, at least on the eastern edge of the pond.

As for "what is a synth band", for me, it's a band who put their faith in their silicon members live, Orbital, again for me, were the epitome of everything electronic music should be.

Steve Campbell wrote: I was with you right up until you blasphemed. Hooky not special indeed. You know what makes New Order special? Having more than one special thing about them! It's OK to have God for a bassplayer, AND a couple of genius programmers. I still consider NO to be the bridge between fluffy synth pop and nasty dark club music, at least on the eastern edge of the pond.

As for "what is a synth band", for me, it's a band who put their faith in their silicon members live, Orbital, again for me, were the epitome of everything electronic music should be.

I agree. It's also a damn shame that Orbital have retired...

leather_girl wrote: There is a German group named "Camouflage" and they had an album in 2003...they're pretty good. Unfortunately, not too many synth bands seems to be the mainstream...I don't know why...

i cant believe they are still around

Al Jarvis wrote:

Uncle Liam wrote: Has anyone mentioned Client?

What, they do music as well?!

And who's the new girl?!

LORDY LORDY!!! Aren't Client produced by either Alan Wilder or Martin Gore? I've come across Client before (fnar fnar).

I recognise that blonde girl in the middle of that band - it's that bird who used to sing in Dubstar....Sarah whatshername?

And the one on the right used to be in that band Frazier Chorus before being one half of that Creation duo Technique which also featured Alan McGees wife.

See? That's TWO New Order connections already!! :D :D

Anyway, I dare say that two of the current biggest "synth bands" are The Bravery and The Killers..... They wear enough eyeliner between them so I guess they qualify.

Ian Chirita wrote: Australia can match the world's best REAL LIFE are an Aussie Band

Try listening to: Send me an Angel God Tonight Deep Sleep

Also there's another band in Australia called BOXCAR Australia's version of New Order. The singer's voice is similar to New Order voice.

try something a bit newer like Cut Copy. They have even been compared to the Order sound. ok blasphamy.

The main one: AIR for me they are the best band that came from the late 90's (1st album: Moon Safary 1997). Less known but also very good are ZOOT WOMAN.

I didn’t remember this when I wrote the other post but Stuart Price a.k.a. “Les Rhythmes Digitales” and “Jacques Lu Cont” is Zoot Woman ‘s bass player and it is the producer of some tracks in WFTSC.

There's an act called Fixmer Mccarthy who comprise French techno producer Terence Fixmer, who records on DJ Hell's Gigolo label, and Douglas Mccarthy, the legendary vocalist of hard electro beat exponents, Nitzer Ebb.

I don't think you could call them big at present, but they sound fantastic. To mention The Killers and the Bravery is a total piss take to be honest, as they'd both give their right arms to sound like either Fixmer Mccarthy or Nitzer Ebb.

If you like the aggressive electronic dance element present in some of New Order's music (EGG, BM, Mesh, Hurt etc), you'd like this. Fucking amazing live as well.

Hannett of the Apes wrote: Really though, New Order have been synth pop in name only after PC&L and the the Arthur Baker singles. Even PC&L had its share of guitar-driven tracks (two of their very best as a matter of fact).

Iris were my favorite neo synthpop group, but they disappeared after the electroclash fad disappeared off the face of the earth. Get a hold of some tracks off Disconnect and Reconnect.

Wolfsheim is an older group of synth purists who effectively merge Depeche Mode style sound washes and krautrock vocal stylings, that is to say, less voice emoting than Bernard on Movement. My favorite two tracks of theirs' are Once in a Lifetime (no relation to Remain in Light) and Find You're Gone.

Tribeca is emo-meets-Depeche Mode. The faux-twee vocals and lyrics as popularized by the spotty Architecture in Helsinki, sum up everything I don't like about today's off-kilter indie synth pop fads. That being said, the actual composition and melodies on their album Dragon Down are catchy as hell for the most part.

I've heard a lot of hype over Boards of Canada being something along the lines of the next Postal Service. I haven't heard them, but i'm mentioning them as they sound along the lines of what you're looking for. Myself, i've never been big on the whole ambient music thing.

I like Les Rythmes Digitales. Be forwarned however that they used sampled vocals and have a slight dance edge.

Les Rythmes Digitales? Fookin great them. Especially the tune they did with Nik Kershaw...

Somebody is going to take the piss of me somewhere with what I am about to say, but stay with me.

But I have to say having heard Dido's "Stoned" (from "Life for Rent") it reminded me of all that late-80s synth, just before acid dance took off and the rest. You know the type I mean Pet Shop Boys a la Domino Dancing, Depeche Mode's Master & Servant, etc.

I have to say it is nothing like Dido has ever done (discounting her work with Faithless and Eminem). Big on synths with enough layers of swathing electro-pop to suffocate Neil Tennant's hamster.

What has this to do with NO? Quite simply NO spawned all this, whether we like it or not.

Okay you're probably pissing now (I don't give a fook), if you've heard it you'll know what I mean, if you haven't and you're laughing, FOOK OFF!

So what was NO's last great synth track, before dance/house took over; ie, everything from Republic onwards?

For me it was Round & Round. Oh, and how can I forget WiM?!

Maybe the last 'proper' synth (not dance) track they did was Vicious Streak. Certainly none on WFTSC, unless you count Krafty.