Synth Pop

Synth (or synthesizer) Pop reigned supreme throughout most of the 1980s, claiming one superstar band (Depeche Mode), one mass critical favorite (New Order), and a huge crop of acts with large cult followings (Yaz, Human League, Heaven 17, Bronski Beat, Thomas Dolby, etc.) among its ranks. Synth Pop artists took initial cues from '70s synthesizer rock, fusing that style's tech-savvy instincts with its own danceable rhythms and melodies. The result was a style of music that was ideally suited to the slick, polished inclinations of the era. Synthetic in nearly every sense of the word, Synth Pop relied heavily upon various keyboard textures as the backbone of its sound. Some bands like Depeche Mode and New Order brought elements of guitar into their music, but it was almost always the synthesizer that drove the melodic grooves home.