Furio Playlists: Eighties Revival

A selection of the best 80s-infused tracks by modern-day artists.

Ever wished you could time travel back to the heyday of your favourite legendary bands? While the 80s might feel like a lifetime away, the decade luckily has left us with a longstanding musical legacy. The ongoing incorporation of the classic 80s sound into modern music shows us that the influences of the decade still matter today.

It was definitely an alluring and distinctive time for music with goth, new wave, and post-punk all battling to be heard. Whilst we don’t have a time machine, many modern acts have created extremely distinctive new spins on their 80s inspirations and are a perfect substitute. They’ve all managed to combine the darkness and introspection of the era with modern recording techniques and the gloomy perspectives of a sometimes cynical new generation of musicians. These acts play with the shadows in unforeseen ways while keeping the pulse and musical inventiveness of acts like New Order or The Cure. From Lebanon Hanover to A Place to Bury Strangers, this playlist aims to cover a broad spectrum of the 80s revival.

One thing many of these tracks have in common is that their work is infused with the legacy of the eras the artists have grown up in or lived through. This specifically includes the 90s as well as the indie wave of the 2000s. It is the heavy walls of sound, the driving basslines, the heavy use of synthesizers, the traditional 80s riff focus as well as the affinity for repeating patterns, that underpin many of the tracks.

Another distinctive and unique product of the advances in technology that have been made is the way many revival bands now layer sound whilst still keeping things distinct. In combination with its oftentimes distinctive style of production, this results in a newly evolved moody complexity and that characteristic huskiness that we remember from the 80s. We created the below playlist to provide you with a unique gem of musical innovation and a fitting soundtrack to a similarly soul-searching time. Enjoy!

Featured Image by Isolde Woudstra