On December 10th, L.A. synthwave producers opt.cmd released their new single “Home,” featuring Andrea Moreno. In what is just their second single, opt.cmd prove that synthwave is absolutely deserving of its current resurgence. Acts like The Midnight, Dunka Dunka (though those guys lean a bit more new wave), and Timecop1983 have all been bringing it back, and opt.cmd takes the general idea of synthwave and takes it towards a pop audience.
Right out of the gate, this swelling synthesizer invites you into the synthwave world that opt.cmd is creating. Almost immediately after getting sucked in, the lead synthesizer starts playing the instrumental hook. There isn’t a lot of dead space in the four minutes this song is playing, which is one of the traps that a lot of synthwave artists can fall into. They try to get too atmospheric and take too long to develop any musical ideas. On “Home,” opt.cmd has completely bypassed that trap.
It doesn’t hurt that their featured vocalist is incredible for the style. Andrea Moreno’s vocals are outstanding. They bring a pop energy into the synthwave instrumental. To be completely honest, she sounds ever so slightly like Ariana Grande towards the end. She’s that good.
Check out “Home” below, and let us know what you think!
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