“Hoffman Cruise’s ‘Odyssey’ is a great start to new year! They bring the soundtrack to this new cyberpunk adventure which we call 2020!”
We were able to get an early copy of Hoffman Cruise’s first full length album called “Odyssey” and it was defiantly a treat! Listening to the album on multiple occasions really sets the tone, weather it was on my early morning walk, in my neon-lit bedroom, cruising to work in the thick Central California fog, or driving home through the city at night. The absolute feeling of living in my own version of Blade Runner, and a great entry into the new decade. The tracks give an element of analog dark-synth mixed with rock and heavy metal riffs without losing it’s synthwave quality. It’s defiantly one of those albums that can rival along with other artist like Tokyo Rose, Perturbator, and Neoslave.
“Sirens Dance“ is the first track of the album and a great starter to really show off the hard riffs along with the dark elemental bass synths. A couple of great tracks with pure rhythmic style like “Run for Cover” and “Charybdis” are a great transitional point for the album as it gets more adventurous and funky. “Through the Rocks” is my favorite track on the album, because of it’s simplicity of moving up and down with the background elements from hearing a strong guitar and a keyboard solo in the middle of the track; pure bliss! (“Through the Rocks” was highlighted on Synth Zone Episode: 126)
The last track “Dead Calm” is a great send off for Hoffman Cruise! If I could choose a music video to be made from this album, it would be this track. “Dead Calm” is one of those tracks that I kept on repeat, and never got tired of it. There is dialog in the track that I’m unfamiliar with the source, but it does sound like the riot scene from 1988’s anime film “Akira” which is set in a dystopian future of Tokyo, Japan. In shorter terms; It sounds like an epic ending to a sci-fi action movie, and you are along for the epic conclusion. Overall a great first album!
Synth Zone Score: 8/10
Pre-Order The Album here -> Bandcamp
“Odyssey” releases on January 31, 2020
