Here are my favorite songs of the month in synthpop, futurepop, darkwave, and adjacent genres. If you want to follow my music discovery this year, subscribe to my 2026 playlist on Spotify. New songs are added every Friday. Sort by “Date Added” to see new tracks appear at the top of the playlist.
10. VORN — “Faithless”
VORN, a new side project from Michael Roeder of A Spell Inside, arrived fully formed last month with the nocturnal anthem “Under the Gothic Moon,” but “Faithless” broadens the band’s intrigue. The track’s toppling beats and staccato synth pads push it into harder, more club-friendly territory, while Michael’s powerful voice gives it a bold, shout-out-loud charge.
9. DIGITAL FACTOR — “They Will Forget You”
German project Digital Factor returns from a three-year absence with a vibrant, deeply layered electronic piece built around a big, powerful hook: “They will forget you when you die.” The line gives the song a cynical edge, delivered with acidic vocals that amp up the menace. A thumping 4/4 beat and clattering hi-hats drive the track forward, sharpening its infectious electropop melodies with the muscle of EBM.
8. CZARINA — “Holy Water”
The always enchanting CZARINA delivers another mesmerizing blend of electronics and mysticism. Lovely vocal runs float over a twinkling piano refrain, building into an instantly catchy chorus: “Splash me with holy water / Set me on fire.” With its mystical textures, flashes of Latin vocals, and mythic subject matter, “Holy Water” feels otherworldly. It’s another reminder that CZARINA doesn’t just write songs, she conjures them.
7. CHOIR BOY — “I’ll Always Let You Down”
The new song from Utah’s Choir Boy is lovely despite all evidence to the contrary—that cover art, that music video. “I’ll Always Let You Down” is ebullient and dynamic, full of fluttering pads and clackety taps. But with all things Choir Boy, it’s all about Adam Klopp’s cherubic vocals. He’s in fine form here, his voice rising and falling with impressive range and emotional depth. It’s a sweet but sharp contrast to the song’s anti-love premise, a cynical message about not living up to someone’s expectations.
6. DEKAD — “Disconnected”
“Disconnected” is a standout moment among many from A Distorted View, the new album from French electronic musician Dekad. It’s a smooth, mid-tempo tune that feels lighter than much of the record, buoyed by delicious melodies and buzzing electronics that flitter across the beat. JB Lacassagne delivers a charming vocal, threading memorable lines about emptiness and losing touch.
5. CULTURE KULTÜR — “Atomic Radio”
Spanish futurepop maestros Culture Kultür make their long-awaited return with the ecstatic “Atomic Radio,” the first taste of a new album coming in June. The track opens and closes with playful media samples that suggest a radio broadcast beamed in from a post-nuclear future. Between those transmissions, joyous synth melodies rise and fall with a bright, energetic pulse, giving the song a sleek sense of motion.
4. TEMPERS — “My River”
“My River,” a deep cut from Tempers’ new album Delusion, sounds like a beautiful mess. The song is a sonic collage, a cacophony of explosive electronic noises—mutant horns, car crashes, industrial gusts—that blow in and out of the mix with bizarro randomness. Somehow, Jasmine Golestaneh welds all that chaos into a thrilling, magnetic song, anchored by a steady beat and her shadowy vocals.
3. WHORTICULTURE — “Make Me Dead”
Colorado’s Whorticulture is not the most prolific artist, but they make up for low volume with high quality. “Make Me Dead,” their first new track in nearly two years, is a fiery club stomper that finds singer Niko shifting between melodic and harsh vocals, giving this synthpop tune a jolt of angry electro intensity. The thumping beats and angsty edge are anchored by a relentless clanking pipe motif that, much like the song’s intrigue, never lets up.
2. ELEKTROSTAUB feat. BEYOND BORDER — “Moments in My Life”
German futurepop act Elektrostaub is the project of producer Patrick Knoch, who brings in guest singers to give his songs their voice. His third album Harmony features an impressive roster, but the real standout is “Moments in My Life” with Beyond Border. Over a galloping beat, Patrick’s joyful synths and Iggi’s sing-along vocals fill this anthem with big-room energy that’s reminiscent of peak futurepop.
1. CHAINREACTOR feat. AUDIOCALL — “Unintentional Presence, Pt. 2”
German dark electro act Chainreactor taps Audiocall frontman Axel Tasler to add vocals to a thumping instrumental originally released in 2022. The result is an exquisite banger that’s equal parts industrial and synthpop, fusing the original’s fiery beat and clanking hi-hats with a sharp pop structure and thrilling vocals. It’s ready made for the dancefloor—I could stomp to this all night.
