Progressive synthwave duo ORYME have just released a brand new album – Edge of the Circle – a ten-song exploration of the synthesiser’s untapped potential as it takes over the world of pop. Well, we call this album new; it’s a recent digital re-release of an underdog album, taped on a four-track cassette recorder long before the advent of the commonplace studio setups of today, and now making its way into the world of digital streaming. At last, 38 years after its original release, Edge of the Circle is actively bringing ‘80s prog-pop back into fashion as it reminisces on the explosion of game-changing creativity which followed the New Wave.
These days, when you hear synths in pop-rock, they linger beneath the layers of flesh as a padding instrument, perhaps stealing a solo, other times circling those same obnoxious tones that keep the nightclub doors swinging to Calvin Harris’ beat. To any classic rock nerd, they’re bland, overused to the point of official boredom.
But here, in a decade being reshaped by mass-market synths, MIDI and home-based recording, ORYME experiment like no other pop band would dare in our modern age. Their album-opening title track, “Edge of the Circle,” sets the scene – a starry, feel-good piece infected with drama, bliss and exceptional oddities, especially once the seven-minute anthem reaches its second half.
The vibe hardly lets up, each track running like a long-lost hit from Top of the Pops or some flashback radio show counting down the greatest hits of 
the ‘80s. These are tunes which plaster an instant smile on your face as erratic guitar and synth solos echo the colours of psychedelia. Vague hints of disco, funk and exceptionally early hip hop (wink, wink, “Lost in the Dream”) twine through ORYME’s synth pop/rock base, placing this band amongst the forgotten pioneers of a sound so wild that even today’s hitmakers have abandoned it for something more straightforward.
But that’s exactly what makes Edge of the Circle so great. It’s unafraid, experimental, feral with fresh ideas and unconventional patterns heralding the brave new world of synthwave.
Our final verdict? Highly Recommended.
BELOW: Listen to ORYME and check out their music online. Please support ORYME by visiting their website and playing, downloading, and/or purchasing their music. And, as always, thank you for supporting real music.
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