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In an age where all anyone needs to start a band, really, is a laptop, “synth-pop” as a genre classification has kind of lost its meaning. Ostensibly, it comprises any kind of music that resembles pop and features some sort of synthesizer sound, but that definition describes a musical landscape as vast as the state of Texas.
So it becomes a kind of moot point to call Flavor Waster—a new D.C. band started by members of experimental post-hardcore trio Caverns—a synth-pop band. Yes, there are synths, and sure, this is pop music, but on their latest track, “Blackest Prius,” Flavor Waster’s intoxicating sound is the culmination of a bevy of influences: Depeche Mode-esque new wave sensibilities; a calypso-style rhythm; and singer Jodi Jones‘ soothing vocals, reminiscent of the calming calls of Mazzy Star‘s Hope Sandoval.
The track is the second one released off their upcoming full-length debut, It’s Always Sunny When You’re Cool, which drops Nov. 20 on School of Resentment Recordings. You can call it a synth-pop album, but you’d be doing it a great disservice to ignore the many influences that shape the band’s dynamic sound.
Photo by Patrick Taylor.