February 8, 2022 — Welcome to a new series of monthly Yestermade™ roundups in which we aim to share the newest, catchiest, and coolest music releases in retro and synthwave. We danced into the New Year expecting some heavy-hitters to fill our airwaves and January absolutely provided enough star-studded music for this premiere Wavecave roundup.

Coming up with a list of the best tracks and EPs released in January was quite the chore. However, we’re more than confident we’ve pieced together a playlist of new releases you’re not going to tire of. Kick on the neon, turn up the bass, and let’s dive into the auditory delights brought to you by the start of the New Year.

New Five-Track Album from Sandman

This sandman certainly won’t be putting you to sleep tonight with this new five-track EP from an aptly-named retrowave project. Sandman’s The New Arcade is an electrifying blend of fantastic songs that all bring intoxicating energy. Perfectly composed synth and hard rock guitars come together for a collection of tracks made for the ‘replay’ button.

‘Forgotten Tomb’ may be the most unique track on the EP, its slow build of ambient noise and lead up into a slightly haunting guitar bring a multitude of different sounds to the table. ‘Sonic Boom’ turns up the energy past ten and comes out of the gate with lightning speed. If you’re in need of an energetic track to keep your adrenaline pumping, ‘Sonic Boom’ is definitely the song to kick on at full blast.

The New Arcade is available on Sandman’s official Bandcamp page.

Moonrunner 83 Drops Two New Tracks

Retrowave artist Moonrunner 83 had quite the month with two very-80s tracks released. The month kicked off with ‘Blonde & Blue’, a solo single that is about as fitting for a Brat Pack movie as a song gets. If the vocals and melody sound a bit familiar, that’s because the track is a cover of the 2000 hit from Headstones. Moonrunner 83’s take on the new millennium track definitely takes it back 20 years with a welcomed synthesized spin.

To close out the month, Moonrunner partnered with the vocal talents of Rebecca Raabis for ‘Ghost of Love’. The original track is sure to remind you of past summer love as you vibe to the racing beat and sing along with Raabis.

Both of Moonrunner’s tracks are available for purchase on the project’s Bandcamp.

New Album: Dance with the Dead — ‘Driven to Madness’

How do you kick off a new album in such a way that your fans will buy it without question? You call upon the talents of John and Cody Carpenter, a duo you may remember from the Halloween (2018) and Halloween Kills soundtrack. Dance with the Dead spared no expense for its newest album, Driven to Madness, and the leading track, ‘March of the Dead’, benefits not just from the project’s signature sound but also from an intro provided by the seminal Carpenters.

Driven to Madness is ten horrifying, spooky, and heavy-hitting tracks from everyone’s favorite darkwave duo. While they all carry the band’s blend of heavy metal and synth, ‘A New Fear’, ‘Wyrm of Doom’, ‘Kiss of the Creature’, and ‘March of the Dead’ may be the stars of the album as they blend touches of gothic rock with electrified synth.

Get Driven to Madness now directly from Dance with the Dead’s official Bandcamp.

Maxthor Goes ‘Far Away’ with New Track

Some songs just hit right from the first note, and though Maxthor’s ‘Far Away’ starts off pretty simple, it’s a fair indicator of the enjoyable track to follow. A rhythmic snare picks up the energy before the minute mark, and from there, it’s impossible to keep your feet from moving with the beat.

‘Far Away’ hits a bit differently than Maxthor’s last track, ‘Into the Light’, offering something a little more subdued to usher the new year in with. Luis Deltell’s vocals are smooth and easy to listen to, backed by the talents of Joaquin Deltell on the keys and Pablo Mendez on drums.

‘Far Away’ is available on Maxthor’s Bandcamp.

Cassetter Releases ‘Through the Lights’ ft. OVRGRWN

It says something when you’re the most unique track on a Yestermade™ monthly roundup. Cassette and OVRGRWN blended their talents for a track that does something a little unique, relying heavily on its vocals before the synth even really kicks in.

Once the composition comes into play, the song is all about the electric sound with a repeated beat that drives the track from the moment it starts to the song’s conclusion. OVRGRWN adds a nice touch to the Donbor remix.

Shortly after releasing ‘Through the Lights’, Cassetter released ‘Violent Servants’, a heavily synthesized track that’s all about its cyberpunk roots. Trek into a neon metropolis with an electronic audioscape that keeps things pretty mid-tempo throughout the track.

‘Through the Lights’ and ‘Violent Servants’ are both available on, you guessed it — Cassetter’s rather lovely and highly official Bandcamp page.