Move over, Depeche Mode. The hottest new artist for synthpop bands to cover is Lady Gaga, whose latest album, Mayhem, is very influential in the dark electronic scene. I counted at least three Lady Gaga covers this year, and there are surely more I missed. (I should note that I stopped paying attention to Depeche Mode covers because they’re just a tad too obvious. You won’t find any of those below.)
Each year, the global synthpop community gives us a fresh batch of cover songs. My favorite covers are the unexpected ones—hard rock anthems or pop songs reimagined with synthpop melodies. I also love when an emerging act gives a fresh take on a synthpop classic. Below, you’ll find 25 of the most notable synthpop covers released this year.
My end-of-year coverage continues later this week with the year’s best music videos. At the start of December, I’ll reveal my pick for best new synthpop act of the year, then we’ll start counting down the year’s best songs. Follow me on Facebook or Instagram if you want to keep up with everything. You can also subscribe to my RSS feed on your favorite news reader.
Agency-V – “Stupid Girl”
“Stupid Girl” was originally released by Garbage in 1995. It was one of the first songs the band wrote together and appears on their self-titled debut album.
AGNIS – “Abracadabra”
“Abracadabra” is the first of three Lady Gaga songs that appears on this list. Like the others, it comes from her 2025 album, Mayhem, which was widely considered a return to Gaga’s pop roots. Fun fact: “Abracadabra” samples the melody from Siouxsie and the Banshees’ 1981 hit “Spellbound,” so Siouxsie and the Banshees receive songwriting credit.
Ankomst – “House of the Rising Sun”
“House of the Rising Sun” is an American traditional folk song of unknown origin. The earliest known recordings date to the 1930s, though it was popularized in 1964 by the English rock band The Animals. Many other artists have covered it, including Woody Guthrie, Bob Dylan, Nina Simone, and Dolly Parton.
AYRIA – “Burning Up”
“Burning Up” is a song from Madonna’s 1983 self-titled debut album. It was one of the first songs she recorded as a solo artist and part of a four-track demo tape that she shopped around to New York City club DJs.
Causeway – “Nobody’s Diary”
Released in 1983, “Nobody’s Diary” is a song by British synthpop duo Yazoo. It was the only single from Yazoo’s second and final album, You and Me Both. Alison Moyet says she wrote the song when she was 16 years old.
Danny Blu – “Perfect Celebrity”
“Perfect Celebrity” is a song from Lady Gaga’s 2025 album Mayhem. Gaga says it was inspired by The Cure’s song “Never Enough.” It was co-produced by French DJ Gesaffelstein.
Deus Ex Lumina – “Careless Whisper”
“Careless Whisper” comes from Wham!’s 1984 album, Make It Big, though the single was marketed as George Michael’s solo debut. George Michael wrote most of Wham’s songs, though “Careless Whisper” is one of the few songs also credited to his bandmate Andrew Ridgeley, who composed the song’s chord progression. Ridgeley has earned millions in royalties off the song.
Glass Apple Bonzai – “Effigy (I’m Not An)”
“Effigy (I’m Not An)” was originally recorded by Ministry for their 1983 debut album, With Sympathy, when Ministry was a synthpop act. Ministry’s Al Jourgensen famously hates With Sympathy, once calling it a “sonic abortion,” though his feelings about the record have softened in recent years. In 2025, the current Ministry lineup re-recorded “Effigy” and other songs from their synthpop era for the album The Squirrely Years Revisited.
GUNSHIP – “Mad World”
“Mad World” is one of Tears for Fears’ most enduring songs. Originally recorded for their 1982 debut album, The Hurting, the song has remained a cult classic, appearing in movies and covered by numerous bands, most notably by musician Michael Andrews and singer Gary Jules for the movie Donnie Darko.
KLACK – “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald”
“The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald” is a 1976 folk rock ballad written and recorded by Canadian singer-songwriter Gordon Lightfoot. Lightfoot wrote it to commemorate the 29 lives lost in the sinking of the ore carrier SS Edmund Fitzgerald in Lake Superior on November 10, 1975. KLACK released their unexpected version on the tragedy’s 50th anniversary.
Leæther Strip – “Dancing On My Own”
“Dancing On My Own” is a modern dance-pop classic recorded by Swedish artist Robyn in 2010 for her fifth studio album, Body Talk Pt. 1. It is among the most acclaimed songs of the 21st century and is beloved by everyone from goths to indie fans. I have never met a person who doesn’t adore this song.
NITE – “Burn”
In 1994, The Cure contributed the song “Burn” to the soundtrack of the movie The Crow. James O’Barr, the creator of The Crow, was a fan of The Cure and initially asked to use “The Hanging Garden,” but Robert Smith instead wrote “Burn” for the film. It wasn’t included on any Cure studio album until later reissues.
NOIR & Silver Walks – “Nothing Stays”
“Nothing Stays” is a song by the Canadian industrial band Cyberaktif that appeared on their 1991 debut album, Tenebrae Vision. Cyberaktif consisted of cEvin Key and Dwayne R. Goettel of Skinny Puppy and Bill Leeb of Front Line Assembly.
Paradox Obscur – “Lose This Feeling”
“Lose This Feeling” was originally released by Dutch DJ and record producer Armin van Buuren in 2023. It’s a high-energy dance song with a tempo of 150 BPM.
Pending Position – “Starsign”
“Starsign” is a song by Norwegian band Apoptygma Berzerk from their 2000 album Welcome to Earth, which marked an evolution in their sound. Apop introduced trance elements on the record, establishing it as one of the earliest and most influential albums of the futurepop era.
Priest – “Wicked Game”
“Wicked Game” is a song by American musician Chris Isaak from his 1989 album, Heart Shaped World. It is a somber, brooding song that has been covered by a wide variety of musicians, including Finnish goth rockers HIM and English-Irish girl group Girls Aloud.
Red Cell – “Disease”
“Disease” is the final Lady Gaga song on the list. Like the others, it comes from her 2025 album Mayhem, though it was released as a single the year before. Gaga’s fiancé, Michael Polansky, helped shape the sound of the album and co-wrote several tracks, including “Disease.”
Rotersand – “Black Night”
“Black Night” is a song by the English hard rock band Deep Purple, released as a single in 1970. Rotersand recorded it for a Cleopatra Records compilation of dark-rock cover songs called The Black Album.
Soft Vein – “Here Comes the Rain Again”
“Here Comes the Rain Again” was originally released by British duo Eurythmics in 1983. Annie Lennox and David Stewart wrote it while staying at the Mayflower hotel in New York on an overcast day.
Stefan Netschio & A State of Flux – “Dislocation”
“Dislocation” was originally released by Ultravox in 1978 for their groundbreaking third album, Systems of Romance. Stefan Netschio is the voice of synthpop act Beborn Beton, and A State of Flux is a mysterious European music collective. The cover features guitar from Pete Burns of Kill Shelter.
The Cassandra Complex – “Nazi Goths Fuck Off”
Finnish artist Suzi Sabotage released the anthemic single “Nazi Goths, Fuck Off” in 2021. At the time, she wrote: “Far-right ideologies are not compatible with goth.” In addition to producing their own cover, The Cassandra Complex has remixed the original (with added Trump samples). The song and Suzi’s message remain relevant today.
White Noise TV – “We Found Love”
“We Found Love,” originally released in 2011, was written and produced by Scottish DJ Calvin Harris with Rihanna singing on the track. It is Rihanna’s most popular song and among the best-selling singles of all time. The duo reunited in 2016 for a second hit called “This Is What You Came For.”
Who Saw Her Die – “Religion”
“Religion” is a song by Belgian EBM pioneers Front 242. It comes from their 1993 album, 06:21:03:11 Up Evil, which marked an abrupt shift in 242’s sound. The original song, released as a single, was remixed by electronic musicians like The Prodigy and The Orb.
Xenturion Prime – “Dust in the Wind”
“Dust in the Wind” is a song recorded by American progressive rock band Kansas, first released on their 1977 album Point of Know Return. Guitarist Kerry Livgren wrote the song after reading a book of Native American poetry, which contained the line “For all we are is dust in the wind.”
Zynic – “Everyday Is Like Sunday”
“Everyday Is Like Sunday” is a 1988 song from Morrissey’s debut solo album, Viva Hate. The song was inspired by Nevil Shute’s classic novel, On the Beach, about a group of people in Melbourne, Australia, waiting for a nuclear radiation cloud to reach them.
Chris Brandon is the voice of Synthpop Fanatic. He is a writer and content strategist who lives in Washington, DC, with his husband and two Siberian huskies.
