Synthwave Sunday: LeBrock, “Real Thing”

While we so often get caught up in synthwave’s dark, seedy underbelly, the genre’s poppier side pulls at heart strings just as strongly. As an example, Gunship’s 2018 opus Dark All Day was one of my favorite albums of the year, and that album is made up of one sweet, sugary hook after the next, often with — gasp! — vocals. The U.K.-based synth-rock duo LeBrock are cut from the same cloth.

“Real Thing,” the opener and title track from LeBrock’s 2018 EP, perfectly encapsulates what this side of synthwave is all about: having tons of fucking fun. Its analogue synth tones and modern beats are the soundtrack to your top-down cruise along Florida’s Overseas Highway, its singalong chorus the anthem to your love-stricken, teenage heart, its undeniable hooks the fuel to get you out on the dance floor and set your night on fire. It’s a smash, and the album is full of them, equal parts Journey and Miami Vice.

LeBrock’s two EPs, Real Thing and Action & Romance, will be reissued by FiXT Neon on February 12th; pre-order them here. The duo is currently working on new music for the label as part of a multi-album deal and will embark on a 20-date European tour with Dance with the Dead starting on February 17th.