Rough Trade Shops: Synth-Wave 10 Co-Op***

The synth has often occupied the aloof, austere and chilly spot in pop culture. When you hear it come in from the wings, you soon find yourself in a place where the 1980s are still in vogue and people are still buying Gary Numan, Howard Jones and Depeche Mode records. But you can get more from the instrument than just synth-pop's often comical doom and gloom, and this compilation comes up with a couple of crackers as it charts a course through electronic pop's current ebbs and flows. There's the dark, exciting thrust of Crystal Castles' Empathy, the thrilling thump of promising newcomers Factory Floor on Lying, and icy perfection from Fever Ray on their cover of Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds' Stranger Than Kindness.Yes, there are a few reminders of festering pretension (see Cosmeticsor Ye Old Maids), but those are the exception. See roughtrade.com

Download tracks: Factory Floor, Lying;Crystal Castles , Empathy