Over the past four years, ØM-53 has been garnering attention with their distinct blend of synthwave and indie-pop sounds. Creating songs that lean into the ’80s nostalgia feels — or as they’ve described it ‘Stranger Things-Like Sounds’ — with atmospheric undertones, I’m quite fond of the work they have done.
Their first album, Defender, dropped in 2020, a compilation album that featured singles that they had been releasing on a fairly regular basis since 2018. Later in the same year, they dropped The Remix Project which as the name dictates, was a compilation of remixes of already-known songs.
When 2021 came around, I was ready for something fresh from the quartet and that came by way of The Voyager. It kicks off with ‘The Journey’, an instrumental intro that feels like it is preparing the listener for an adventure into the vast unknowns of space.
The song is quite mellow but it also has a slight neo-progressive twist, with each new loop revealing a new instrumental layer until it finally fades. ‘Runaways’ brings the energy with the drumbeat and synths leading the charge. It’s a song of escape — leaving our pasts behind and returning to the heart of God and His plans for us.
‘Found The Light’ dives headfirst into the new wave and synthpop feel. This is where ØM-53 truly excels. It’s a reminder that these guys have truly perfected their sound in its current form. Lyrically, the song speaks about the illumination that comes from our relationship with Christ as they sing, ‘‘When I was lost you called me found/Made me your own on solid ground/Oh I found a light’’.
‘Alpha’ features Edu Linares and it’s a song of yearning and a cry for revelation. Even amidst the beautiful lead synths, bright keys and general upbeat demeanour of the track, the desperation and hunger for purpose still bleed through. ‘Peace’ features Mariah and fellow synthwave artists Amng Wlvs. It’s a cover of a song by Hillsong Young and Free of the same name.
‘Rescue’ is an instrumental interlude that flows seamlessly from its predecessor. In some ways, it is an indicator that the album is at its halfway point, laying the backdrop for the next batch of songs.
On ‘American Dream’, the band draws inspiration from retro indie-pop. It’s a character piece in which the protagonist comes to the realization that Jesus is the only one to follow. ‘Thunder’ is a song of dependency and it’s probably my favourite on the album. With smooth saxophone solos and glorious lead guitar solos, it’s chill synthwave at its finest.
‘King’ is the third instrumental interlude on the album. It feels like a procession, starting off with a repetitive haunting keyboard loop followed quickly by the synths and drumbeat until it builds to a satisfying conclusion.
‘Rain Down’ is a synthwave cover of a song by the now-disbanded English Christian band Delirious? of the same title. ‘A Perfect Stranger’ is a beautiful instrumental track that brings this journey to a close. It has an anthemic feel with a synth solo melody that is easy to sing along to.
I like this album quite a bit and in general, The Voyager has a lot of great moments. I’ll be curious to see how ØM-53 progresses sonically after this project. There is an element of safety in this project and although they do enough to keep things interesting throughout the album, most of the songs still have the same basic formula.
My strongest criticism of this project lies in the lyrical department. It is an 11-track album with four instrumental tunes and two covers. That’s simply not enough room for lyrical expression in my opinion, especially when my favourite songs happen to be among the five songs with original lyrics.
Ultimately, I still have a lot of respect for the creative process of this album and I have no doubts that they achieved what they set out to do.
I look forward to hearing much more from ØM-53.
Tags: Synthwave, Indie Pop, New Wave
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That’s it for today, folks.
Until next time.
Keep listening!