Synthwave Sunday: Scandroid, “Destination Unknown”

Scandroid, the self-titled debut album by Detroit electronic artist and producer Celldweller, depicts “a cyberpunk future where humans and sentient robots struggle to find a connection in their dystopian world.” Sound familiar? It should; that, more or less, is the theme of at least 50% of all synthwave albums.

But the similarities end there, namely because Scandroid’s knack for catchy, twisted, hooky songwriting is one huge step above so many of the aspiring artists in the genre. That’s evident both on instrumental tracks like “Destination Unknown,” with its undulating synth lead carrying the tune — premiering below — and full-on pop bangers like “Neo-Tokyo,” a Tears for Fears-like vocal track that deftly demonstrate its writer was actually around in the ’80s to witness the stuff that inspired this entire genre first-hand. (And, oh hey, this album contains an ace Tears for Fears cover, too)

Scandroid comes out on November 11th; pre-order here. Watch the retro-inspired trailer below the track stream.