Entry 950 - Essenger - After Dark

Style: Synthwave

Primary Emotions/Themes: The cover says it all, staring out over a futuristic city after dark

Thoughts: Cinematic. It's a word that is used to describe music quite frequently. I've likely used it countless times throughout these summaries. Overused? Likely. But I am forced to use it one more time to describe Essenger's excellent After Dark album.

After Dark is an incredibly visual album. Starting with the massive introduction Shinigami, the album quickly wraps its thick atmosphere around me. I'm taken to a city that would feel right at home in Ridley Scott's Blade Runner. Neon lights, flying cars, rain falling on the endless pavement, and humans walking around more machine than organic.

The title track comes on immediately after the intro, the melody is carried by Essenger's voice while synth pads make up the rest of the song. No percussion, nothing else to distract from the voice and the atmosphere. It's only after the title of the song is said that the percussion comes in with the typical synthwave thump. 

Essenger ticks all the boxes for typical synthwave: thick bass, retrofuturism, electric guitars, and catchy melodies played by synths... so many synths. Where Essenger differentiates himself is how all of these things are put together on After Dark. 

Instead of bursting straight into the synth bass at high speeds, Essenger takes his time building the song up. They are heavily reliant on atmosphere, and they use it as one of the primary "instruments" of the album. It's thicker than the smog in Mega City One. The other major difference is After Dark is considerably slower than most other synthwave I've heard. The pacing here is truly to their advantage as it only adds to the atmosphere and fullness of the album. 

After Dark is an incredibly nuanced and well realized album. Every song has been put into the track order with great intent. The album also has a run time of just over 30 minutes... thirty minutes of pure excellence. This is the very definition of leaving me for wanting more.

Written September 9th 2024