Ami Marie - Verrückt Nach Glück (1981)

Excellent German minimal wave. Synths, vocoder, and weirdo-creepo vibes. Definitely first found this on the late, great Mutant Sounds, but tracked down a better rip a few years later.

Track listing:

1. Verrückt Nach Glück

2. Zartbitter...

3. Spiel mit Mir

4. Sehnsucht

5. Wir Sind Zufrieden

6. Der Seemann und die Rose

7. Licht Zerbricht

8. Reisen

9. Abschied

10. Epilog (Verrückt Nach Glück)

Wounded in sleep again

You'd also like:

Leda - Welcome to Joyland (1978)

Warning - Warning (1982)

Mysterious Art — Omen - The Story (1989)

[Crypt Keeper voice] Hello, creeps! As I'm sure you know, Halloween Season is always a special time here at Opium GLUM. And your old pal the Opium Keeper has just the twisted tale to start things off on the right foot [holds up severed foot, giggles.] It concerns a group of coked-up Germans who just couldn't get enough of the KNIFE life! [more giggling] So when they conspired to make an album of Hi-NRG bangers, they stuffed it so full of spooky samples, deadly drum machines, petrifying pianos, scary synths, and vampiric vocals -- people who heard it didn't know whether to laugh or DIE! [this one really gets me going, I absolutely laugh my fucking ass off for a full 15-20 seconds] I call this one... Omen - The Story.

Track listing:

1. In Nomine (Intro)

2. Das Omen - Teil 1

3. Requiem

4. Humunkulus (Men of Glass)

5. The Beyond

6. Carma - Omen 2

7. Fallen Angel

8. Don't Fly Too High

9. Heaven's Door

10. Requiem (Instrumental Mix)

11. Humunkulus (Dub Mix)

Look upon your life

Don't cover up the things you've done

Were they always good

Or did you perish for the evil one?

GORE like this:

Easy Going - Fear (1979)

Zombie Zombie - A Land for Renegades (2008)

Telefilme - Pocket Horror Symphony (1997)

Previously on OPIUM HUM:

Telefilme - Fade In, Fade Out (1995)

By request, here's the second and final album by this truly phenomenal duo. Somewhere between the electronic sounds of the mid 90s, the romantic depression of 80s new wave/pop, and the cluttered aesthetic of a burgeoning indie/post-rock scene, Telefilme struck a magic kind of musical alchemy on two 10/10 albums, then broke up because they were too good for this world.

Track listing:

1. Electric Farm

2. Hi-Fi Ghost

3. Shopping List Blues

4. Da Haus

5. California Punch

6. Jeremy

7. Catastrophe Baby

8. Fahrenheit

9. I Will Follow the Leader

10. Doll-House

11. Peter Pain

12. Ballad of the Droog

Life's like a big supermarket

You should also hear:

Mark Renner - All Walks of This Life (1986)

Jack Frost - Jack Frost (1991)

Steve Hillage - For to Next (1982)

Previously on OPIUM HUM:

Steve Hillage - Green (1978)

Guitarist/psychedelic lifer Steve Hillage's skewed, hypnotic take on synth-y 80s pop rock, colored by his reliably sublime guitar work and spectral, Eno-esque vocals. I've always loved Hillage's first few records, but for some reason, I never really delved further into his discography until last week, when a friend kinda randomly sent this my way, and I immediately fell in love with it. Destined to be one my most listened-to records of the summer.

Track listing:

1. These Uncharted Lands

2. Kamikaze Eyes

3. Alone

4. Anthems for the Blind

5. Bright Future

6. Frame by Frame

7. Waiting

8. Glory

A triumph and a tragedy

You should also hear:

Gary Numan - Warriors (1983) + Strange Charm (1986)

Jan Bang - Frozen Feelings (1989)

Warm Ghost - Narrows (2011)

A great bit of swooning, 80s-leaning, downtempo synth pop from the chillwave era. Hadn't listened to this for years until this morning, and it holds up really, really well. For me, these throwback sounds are always so much better when they're incorporated into new-sounding music, instead of the full-on nostalgia cosplay that's taken over, pretty much across the board, in recent years. I blame Stranger Things.

Track listing:

1. G.T.W.S.

2. I Will Return

3. Once One

4. Myths on Rotting Ships

5. PLY7

6. Inside and Out

7. Mariana

8. Splay of Road

9. An Absolute Light

You can pull the wool over a lion's eyes but it sees

Through a leak in the strands and a parting in the swaying grass

Same year, same wheelhouse:

Processory - Change Is Gradual (2011)

Tropics - Parodia Flare (2011)

Maskull - Maskull (1997)

A total gem of low-budget, synth-driven, outsider darkwave with a croaking ghoul of a vocalist who sounds like he's constantly on the verge of either tears or death; think a more fully goth Xiu Xiu. There's very little information to be found on this project -- this article for Dangerous Minds is as rich a source as I've found, and it's pretty much just a glowing retrospective review that mentions that Maskull is a one-man LA-based project by some dude named Troy Maskull who may or may not be dead now -- but maybe bizarro projects like this are better without context.

Track listing:

1. Hollywood Gypsy

2. 2000 AD

3. Passenger in Time

4. In a Paradise

5. Sacred

6. Working Hard for Your Love

7. Dream City

8. Fantasy

9. Potion of Love

10. To Be or Not to Be

Where are all the rainbows?

You might also enjoy:

Sixth Comm - A Nothing Life (1987)

Nosferatu - Prince of Darkness (1996)

Leda - Welcome to Joyland (1978)

Related:

Peter Baumann - Trans Harmonic Nights (1979)

A really great one-off synthpop project helmed by the great Peter Baumann, under the alias Hacoon Mail. Disaffected, ethereal vocals (courtesy of an uncredited, anonymous female vocalist) drifting over energetic, minimal, precise synth arrangements. Kinda Baumann's Ann Steel Album.

Track listing:

1. Welcome to Joyland

2. Endless Race

3. White Cloud

4. Movin' On

5. City of Light

6. Space Ride

7. Caroussel

8. Future

9. Stardust

Oceans of light

Also listen to:

Hipnosis - Hipnosis (1984)

Mark Shreeve - Legion (1985)

Solid Space - Space Museum (1982)

Analogue-heavy, space-themed British synth pop with dreamy krautrock overtones. A lo-fi minor masterpiece that had more or less completely fallen off the map before receiving a long overdue reissue, which was followed by a bunch more.

Track listing:

1. Afghan Dance

2. Spectrum Is Green

3. Destination Moon

4. The Guests

5. New Statue (Morning Song)

6. A Darkness in My Soul

7. Radio France

8. Tenth Planet

9. Earthshock

10. Contemplation

11. Please Don't Fade Away...

Our voices echo

You'd also like:

Space - Magic Fly (1977)

Snowy Red - A Right to Die (1982)

Dip in the Pool - Silence (1986)

Heaven-sent Japanese ambient synth pop. Understated, deceptively complex, and way ahead of its time. Little bits here and there remind me of some of the greats, but Dip in the Pool never really sound like anyone but themselves. 10/10.

Track listing:

1. Rabo del sol

2. Facing the Sea

3. はすのえにし

4. Sur le pois

5. Silence

6. ひなまり

7. View

8. Again

9. Spring from the Surface

10. Dormir

It's so different here

You might also enjoy:

Akira Inoue - Splash (1983)

Jan Bang - Frozen Feelings (1989)

Twilight Ritual - The Ritual (1982)

Belgian minimal/coldwave. Spooky synths, electronic drums, and intermittent vocals that can only be described as "exactly what you'd expect, in a good way."

Track listing:
1. Splintered Images of Oz
2. Surrounded
3. Webb-Men
4. They Are We
5. Ever Changes
6. Fading Me
7. A Chrome Entrance
8. Elegy
9. Up to Now
10. Filters of Density

I am here // I am not

Also listen to:

Snowy Red -
The Right to Die (1982)

Minimal Man -
Sex with God (1985)

Snowy Red - The Right to Die (1982)

What's up y'all? What's been going on? Me? Pretty much just been kickin' it around the crib. Here's some sinister Belgian minimal wave/synth pop that you could maybe throw on to try and stave off the boredom/creeping anxiety.

Track listing:
1. Euroshima (Wardance)
2. Nowhere
3. I'm Hurt
4. Never Alive
5. Relax
6. Opium
7. Lies in Your Eyes
8. Madman
9. The Right to Die

How funny are those explosions

Also listen to:

Fad Gadget -
Fireside Favourites (1980)

Oppenheimer Analysis -
New Mexico (1982)

The Dolphin Brothers - Catch the Fall (1987)

Related:
Japan - Adolescent Sex (1978)
Rain Tree Crow - Rain Tree Crow (1991)

Artful new wave/"sophistipop" (I refuse to use that word without mentioning my contempt for it) from Richard Barbieri and Steve Jansen of Japan. Honestly, Jansen, who handles vocals, kinda sounds like he's straight-up doing a David Sylvian impression.

Track listing:
1. Catch the Fall
2. Shining
3. Second Sight
4. Love That You Need
5. Real Life, Real Answers
6. Host to the Holy
7. My Winter
8. Pushing the River

Falling down without a sound

You might also like:

Gary Numan -
Dance (1981)

The Wild Swans -
Bringing Home the Ashes (1988)

M - The Official Secrets Act (1980)

English new wave/synthpop from English musician Robin Scott. Fun, bouncy, whimsical-sounding songs with angry, politically-charged concerns. A great soundtrack for the relentless shitscape that is my life right now (jk it's not that bad I just have no days off ever.)

Track listing:
1. Transmission
2. Join the Party
3. Working for the Corporation
4. Your Country Needs You
5. Mayday
6. Relax
7. Maniac
8. Keep It to Yourself
9. Abracadabra
10. Official Secrets

Working, working, working, working

You'd probably also like:

Visage -
Visage (1980)

Telex -
Neurovision (1980)

Anna Domino - East and West (1984)

My schedule is positively brutal this term. Goddamn, I miss having free time. But I have a tiny little window of nothing right now, so I'm listening to this short-but-sweet EP of downtempo, laid-back but sharp 80s art pop and staring out the window of the student union.

Track listing:
1. With the Day Comes the Dawn
2. Land of My Dreams
3. Review
4. Everyday, I Don't
5. Trust, in Love

I know that my dreams aren't true
I sit and spin, and I can't begin
To recover and count the cost, and get lost

You should also listen to:

Nona Hendryx -
SkinDiver (1989)

Eg and Alice -
24 Years of Hunger (1991)

Jimi Tenor - Sähkömies (1994)

Minimal, downtempo electro-jazz from Finnish multi-instrumentalist Jimi Tenor. Synth pads, simple drum loops, chilled-out basslines, bleeps and bloops, lounge-y organ, smooth sax, and budget-cosmic vibes. Then there's "Take Me Baby", which sounds like a sexed-up, lo-fi New Order. The kind of explorative, idiosyncratic record that really can only be made by a solo artist.

Track listing:
1. Theme Sax
2. Crazy Hammond
3. Union Ave
4. Take Me Baby
5. Matti B
6. Teräsmies
7. Voimamies
8. Travelin Dem Spaceways
9. Union Ave III

Love me on the way to the dark star

You might also like:

A Small Good Thing -
Cool Cool Water (1996)

Richard Thomas -
Shoes and Radios Attract Paint (1998)

Severed Heads - City Slab Horror (1985)

Warped, experimental, mostly (not entirely) instrumental synth-pop filtered through a polluted industrial haze.

Track listing:
1. Spasm
2. Spastic Crunch
3. Spitoon Thud
4. 4.W.D.
5. Ayoompteyempt
6. The Bladders of a Thousand Bedouin
7. Now, an Explosive New Movie
8. Guests
9. We Have Come to Bless the House
10. Cyflea, Rated R
11. Goodbye Tonsils
12. Voices of the Dead

Dead eyes opened

If you like this, try:

Chris & Cosey -
Technø Primitiv (1985)

Sixth Comm -
A Nothing Life (1987)

Static Movement - Visionary Landscapes (1999)

Related:
The Frozen Autumn - Fragments of Memories (1997)

Static Movement are the same male-female duo that makes up The Frozen Autumn, and aside from Arianna taking over vocal duties on more tracks, they sound more-or-less exactly the same -- like a more ethereal, goth-y New Order, essentially.

Track listing:
1. Outside the Line
2. There's No Time to Recall (Vector Synthex Mix)
3. Into Your Arms
4. She Was on the Stairs
5. Nouvelle Vague
6. The First Experiment
7. Radio Station
8. Visionary Landscapes
9. The Waveshaper
10. The Structure of Heart

Vertical movements through trapdoors

More along these lines:

Fad Gadget -
Fireside Favourites (1980)

John Foxx -
Metamatic (1980)

Sixth Comm - A Nothing Life (1987)

Previously on OPIUM HUM:
Mother Destruction / Sixth Comm - Seething (1990)

Fatalistic, synth-driven, industrial-tinged darkwave from former Death in June drummer/vocalist Patrick Leagas. A Nothing Life is definitely an experimental album, but compared to Seething, it sounds like fucking Men Without Hats.

Track listing:
1. Born Again
2. Foretold
3. State Laughter
4. Safe at Home
5. Rethgual
6. Winter Sadness
7. Blood 2
8. A Nothing Life
9. Neiflheim

Fallen statues
Slaughtered children
Fill your eyes
And the skull is always laughing

Also listen to:

Twice a Man - The Sound
of a Goat in a Room (1983)

The Frozen Autumn -
Fragments of Memories (1997)

Telefilme - Fade In, Fade Out (1995)

Electronic-tinged lo-fi Spanish indie rock, straight from the playlists of heaven. Light years ahead of their time and informed by new wave, synth pop, soft rock, and krautrock, Telefilme mastered an anxious, melancholic, but dreamy sound that hipsters young and old are still chasing after today. Perhaps most importantly, though, these are beautiful, inventive songs that would stay compelling even if reduced to their most basic components.

Track listing:
1. Radio Esquivel
2. 23rd Century Chase
3. Moroder
4. Il Diavolo
5. Alien
6. I Love How You Love Me
7. Single Bee
8. Teenage Siouxsie
9. Coma
10. Undergrounder
11. Tokyo Monogatari

Aliens calling me

If you like this, check out:

Pram - The Stars Are So Big, the Earth
Is So Small... Stay as You Are (1993)

Hospital Ships -
The Past Is Not a Flood (2016)

Jan Bang - Frozen Feelings (1989)

Previously on OPIUM HUM:
Christian Wallumrød, Arve Henriksen, Jan Bang, Erik Honoré - Birth Wish (2000)

Synth-driven 80s pop from Norwegian singer/musician/producer Jan Bang. Big, shiny production and upbeat arrangements mask some pretty damn dark lyrics. Bang is better-known for his later work in the jazz world, making this sophisticated take on contemporary pop a curiously sugary addition to his discography. Reminds me of Tears for Fears, circa The Hurting.

Track listing:
1. Frozen Feelings
2. One Made Two
3. Fake Delight
4. Blindness
5. Merciful Waters
6. Dance Away
7. Is This Really True
8. Beyond
9. Come with Me
10. I Can't Forget You

Dive deep down

You'd also like:

Nona Hendryx -
SkinDiver (1989)

Eg and Alice -
24 Years of Hunger (1991)