Ninthalor – Through The Forest Deep [US, Dungeon Synth] (2020)

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Neverwood Records | 12-18-20

It would be wonderful if this was a 2021 release. It is okay. By now, I have talked a lot about Neverwood Records as being a gem in the area of high quality dungeon synth. Through The Forest Deep is the debut EP from an artist who I am anticipating having a stellar debut full length in 2021. Ninthalor’s soundscapes are both mystical and playful with sounds the feel like trickster gods which lead the listener further into incandescent woods. With far out synth effects and regal tones befitting a faerie court, Through the Forest Deep holds a sense of wonder mixed with unease as one gets further into the record. Ninthalor offers a journey and no one is saying that you will come out unscathed. 2021 is going to be an exciting time as long as artists and records labels continue to pursue unearthly delights.

Nighthaunter – Phantasmal Journeys into the Morbid Past [UK, Raw Black] (2021)

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Self Released | 1-2-21

Welcome to 2021. As this site develops into a dungeon synth haven, I want to make sure I dig into the grave soil for some truly horrid black and death metal demos. Phantasmal Journeys into the Morbid Past is the first demo from a UK project that could be a solo venture or a group but since Nighthaunter is without a Metal Archives or social media page, we are just going to guess. With the lack of information comes a vacuum of space that fills with thrashing and boney kicks to the face from an obvious ghast that has tracked you through this cemetery. Raw and unkempt is the perfect way to enter into this year with fear and terror.

A Good Mage – A Good Mage Is Hard to Find [US, Dungeon Synth] (2020)

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Neverwood Records | 11-6-20

I talked about Neverwood Records before with the release of Covered Brides’ debut. Neverwood is still new with 2020 being their inaugural release in October of 2020. With only months of existence, this Us label has managed to put out dazzling releases that are both comfy as well as alienating and cold. A Good Mage is the former, but maybe both, with a release that is intoxicating with its lofi esoteric immersion. Through this 25 minute release, the listener is treated to a soundscape which is as abstract as it is nostalgic. Combine this with a strong visual design and one has a release that echoes even into the new year.

Merkury – Spatial Illusions [US, Dungeon Synth, Ambient] (2020)

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Faberglade Records | 12-21-20

I would like to mention for the purposes of academic history, this record was self released in December of 2019. Feberglade Records included this release in the Winter 2020 bundle along with other fantastic releases. Spatial Illusions is dungeon synth yet their aesthetic, just visually, put this release in another dimension entirely. Torn between the realms of dark ambient / drone and berlin school electronics, Merkury pays tribute the dungeon synth’s primeval foundations with a record that is enigmatic as well as omniscient. It exists across the fabric of space and time and could easily be the soundtrack the universal changes in the cosmos if not for the omnipresent silence. For fans of Tangerine Dream or just anyone who thinks beyond the confines of prescribed perception, Spatial Illusions exists in extra dimensions.

Warm Smial – Carols for the Hearth in Winter [US, Dungeon Synth] (2020)

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Wrought Records | 12-11-20

I am writing this on December 29th which is still in the afterglow of the holidays but not underneath its oppression. I think as the years goes by, comfy synth is going to be more pronounced at the end of the year just for its ability to evoke warm emotions and a paralyzing sense of sentimentality. Wrought Records has always done fun things for the holidays in addition to being a consistent producer of fantastic releases since 2019. Aside from the dark ambient to lo fi fantasy releases, fun themed releases like Witch Haunt and Reliquary of Terror would dot the Halloween season. Warm Smial’s second release, Carols for the Hearth in Winter, comes during the end of the year holidays and is perfect for a crackling fire and steeping tea. While comfy synth can feel sugary and disposable, Warm Smial, as well as Wrought Records, manages to command attention and respect with releases that warm the minds and heart so listeners. This type of music is going to be an annual tradition from this moment forward.

Warm Smial’s debut was in March of 2020 which came at the tail end of the comfy synth boom in December of 2019.

トレイル GUIDE – Reflection [US, Dungeon Synth / Field Recordings] (2020)

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Self Released | 12-15-20

Listen, I get it. The use of Japanese on a tape release usually leads to assumptions that it is vaporwave or some sort of hip electronic that you probably will not get. If this release had a fantasy aesthetic to it, it probably would have been a little bit more popular. Reflection is a meditation on nature through a cracked lens of lo fidelity and warping. Through field recordings and the haze of solitude, this release invokes the power of nature to be a soundtrack for for the spirit. This is the second release by Local Forest Society, a US based label, with I believe only one artist, who records albums live in nature with the ambient sounds put to mixed in with the melodies. The idea of this recording process (do not know how true it is) has deep reverence to both nature and the solitary act of recording music where it is just one person and their communion with the wilderness. Despite the idiosyncratic name and aesthetic, トレイル GUIDE continue to forge their own path into nature synth opting to get lost in the woods to finally be at peace.

Grandpas House Near the Sea – Sunny Weekend​/​Mourning Weekend [France, Dungeon Synth] (2020)

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Vicious Mockery | 12-4-20

For as rudimentary as comfy synth can seem, the micro genre within an already micro genre has the ability to evoke powerful emotions. Its sense of nostalgia and sentimentality is not unlike the whole of dungeon synth just without the fantastic framework. Sunny Weekend​ and ​Mourning Weekend were two EPs released by Ancient Void Music, a ritual / ambient music label based in France. While I think both EPs fit in a catalog of ritual ambient and experimental music, Grandpas House Near the Sea’s, an act that seems entirely dedicated to this tale, fits most at home at Vicious Mockery and especially on a physical tape. Broken into two acts, Sunny Weekend​/​Mourning Weekend weaves the tale of childhood fantasy along with the inevitable unraveling of mortality and memories which go into both. The track titles and approach can feel frank and without poetry yet the forthright honesty which comes with these EPs is something that feels cathartic for a style of dungeon synth that is suppose to be be cozy. There is a space for cozy emotions as well as natural sadness which is apart of the march of time.

Lord Lovidicus – Midsummer [US, Dungeon Synth] (2020)

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Self Released | 9-5-20

This was released back in August of 2020 but I am finally writing about it since Dungeons Deep released a tape version in December of 2020. Lord Lovidicus was one of my first real dungeon synth infatuations. This artist taught me me the symphonic heights this genre could travel with releases like The Book of Lore Vol 1 (2015). this is even skipping over some of the releases like Trolldom (2010) which are legendary in the history of modern dungeon synth. Lord Lovidicus is a luminary in the genre and Midsummer continues to add to this artists legacy with a record that is befitting the enchanting cover. Sensual and magical, Midsummer pays tribute to Shakespearian comedies as well as mythological tales of wonder and intrigue. I have always liked using Lord Lovidicus as an example of how melodic and regal, the genre of dungeon synth can become and Midsummer continues to add weight to my example.

Covered Bridges – Covered Bridges [US, Dungeon Synth] (2020)

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Neverwood Records | 12-18-20

this is apart of my quest to write reviews on what feels like a lot of tapes that were recently purchased. It is difficult to say know when you stumble on a wonderful comfy synth release with a tape as well as a record label you did not know existed. Neverwood Records is based in the US and even though they only started to release tapes in October of this year, they have managed to build a decent catalog of dungeon synth and weird adjacent companions. While not entirely a comfy synth label, the releases from Neverwood travel towards the cozy while still retaining some of the more uncomfy esoteric sounds. Covered Bridges, however, is nothing less than a warm cup of tea while starting at a sentimental painting. Comfy synth can be viewed as reductive especially when given a wave of releases at once. Despite this, I have always enjoyed this sound as i feel it promotes a classical sense of escapism where one trades in the dark coldness for inclusive warmth. Covered Bridges works for the holidays but could be played throughout the winter and into the mighty thaw of Spring.