The Chromatics are a Portland, OR band that, although modern, has a very definate retro-80s vibe about them that is deliberately cultivated. Probably for this reason, they contributed a track to the Drive soundtrack, as well as a number of other Hollywood projects. It also sounds, curiously, a lot like Sonic Youth's song "Wish Fulfillment" although rendered in a very different style. This particular song was featured in the Twin Peaks reboot/relaunch. It seems to fit somehow.
This is the epitome of what is sometimes called "dreamwave" I think—although I can't get a decent definition from anyone who coined that label, it clearly stands for the wispy, wistful, ethereal type of synthpop, synthwave, and other related genres. It's often melancholy, usually downtempo, and often overtly romantic in nature. If I were to create a playlist of my own tracks called Dreamwave (which I have done, actually) the earliest song that would qualify would almost certainly be Chris & Cosey's "October (Love Song)" and the biggest contributors of material would be Book of Love and Marsheaux—although that may be an artifact of my own collection (as well as my familiarity with songs that could qualify.)
Curiously, as I've investigated The Chromatics, I haven't necessarily fallen in love with anything else that they've done. But I absolutely adore this song. It's one of my favorites, and certainly my clear favorite of the wistful "dreamwave" type of music that I have.
CHROMATICS "SHADOW" (Last Dance Of The Night... by chromaticsvideo
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