10 Modern Songs That Sound Like The 1980s

Amazing, strange, and often groundbreaking are described for the 1980s era, not only limited the music itself. Owing to an array of one-hit wonders who overstuffed their tunes with synthesisers, many people dismissed this music. But fans who grew up secretly loving this songs should stop being embarrassed. Critics are starting to praise their achievements they once dismissed. A new era, what after 2010 would be defined as "modern" saw a number of artists embracing those sounds, emulating them the same way the '80s musicians repurposed '60s rock and '70s punk. Here are the ones considered the best that borrowed the tunes from the synth pop age.

10. Walk the Moon, "Shut Up and Dance"

The quartets 2014 hit opens with a riff familiar with U2's "Where the Streets Have No Name". Singer Nick Petricca wrote the song after a night out at a club with his girlfriend, later citing Pat Benatar, the Cars, and Rick Springfield as influences. "The '80s and some of the '90s was a time when weird was celebrated," he later said.


9. Lady Gaga, "Perfect Illusion"

Gaga's "Perfect Illusion" is the electro essential from her latest album, Joanne. While other records tend to be based in country folk and roots rock, the LP's lead single could easily have appeared in her 2008 album The Fame, which was more of an electro-pop. Gaga's layered, vibrato-rich vocals gives this track shades of peak Pat Benatar and the Heart.


8. Tame Impala, "The Less I Know the Better"

Tame Impala's Kevin Parker is no stranger to leveraging his talents to pay tribute to the past. The Aussie's third album, 2015's Currents, saw Tame Impala find inspiration in a new decade, with Parker describing it as his attempt to "convince a few die-hard rock fans that '80s synths can fit over a '70s drum beat. "The Less I Know the Better" uses that formula to great effect, resulting in a track that infuses retro influences that travels across time.


7. The 1975, "Somebody Else"

Their name might be 1975, but this band's latest album is all about the '80s. "Somebody Else" has a slow-burning sensuality and suspense of a song like Tangerine Dream's "Love on a Dream," but also the control of a Tears for Fears fever dream.


6. Drake, "Hold on We're Going Home"

The Toronto rapper's third album Nothing Was the Same harks back to '80s R&B with no filter at all. With its relaxing rhythm, smooth melodies, and utterly moving lyrics, the track leaves the status-anxious space Drake typically inhabits and settles in a world where the love between two people that counts.


5. Mark Ronson, "Uptown Funk ft. Bruno Mars"

Bruno Mars' powerful vocals fuel the funk-filled pop jam, and the song speaks to influences both from the '70s and'80s, especially the "Minneapolis Sound" of Prince and the Time. Like their greatest tracks, "Uptown" has both vintage and futuristic vibes.


4. Taylor Swift, "New Romantics"

Tay Tay transitioned from country to full pop with her album 1989 in 2014. "New Romantics" is one of the faster-paced tracks on the record, featuring her sharp-tongued lyrics about romantic outcasts, à la The Breakfast Club. Originally intended as a bonus track, it became the album's final single, after getting more attention.


3. Sky Ferreira, "Everything Is Embarrassing"

"Everything Is Embarrassing" is straight out of a prom scene. The track is dance pop at its finest, and Ferreira couples the anthem grunge with sensual lyrics. It's a standout from her 2012 Ghost EP, boosted by its Joan Jett-like swagger, just with more keyboards instead of guitars.


2. Carly Rae Jepsen, "Run Away With Me"

This is a record that borrows heavily from the decade best known for twinkling synth sounds and booming drums. For Jepsen, the trip back time works. With an '80s flair, provided by a beat from Swedish super-producer Shellback, her sincere proclamations and anthemic choruses are injected with a throwback sensation.


1. M83, "Midnight City"

The epitome of 80s music. Anthony Gonzalez's vocals soar hazily and the main riff sparks. Then, the saxophone solo from James King of Fitz and the Tantrums are heard, transporting 25 years back in time.