Review – “Searching for Tomorrow” by Timecop1983
Timecop1983 surfaces yet again, but this time he doesn’t quite hit the mark he’s proven he’s capable of with a somewhat forgettable collection of synthwave tracks that are too formulaic.
“I’ve seen burning fires that will never burn out,
And I’ve been so high that I’ll never come down…”
For several years now, I have had a soft spot for synthwave, and maybe that’s because I grew up on synth-pop and have always been partial to the sci-fi genre when it comes to television and movies. Synthwave is where those two entirely unrelated things intersect, and the result is music meant to soundtrack any cyberpunk universe imaginable. This is even reflected in the imagery and artwork associated with the genre, which is something I have always appreciated about it. The only downside to this extremely niche positioning is that the music tends to be excessively formulaic and predictable.
Timecop1983 has long been one of my favorite artists out of this genre because he tends to avoid falling too far into this trap of predictability and he is always releasing something, so there’s typically new music to hear, even if it’s just a single or a brief EP. In fact, he is so consistent with new releases in some form or another that I didn’t even realize he released “Searching for Tomorrow” until I went and saw him live in October of this year – roughly one month after the album’s release.
The unfortunate thing about this relentless consistency is that it lends to streaks of sameness, if you will, where there is little variety and not much substance. Lately, I have felt that Timecop1983 has fallen into something of this type of holding pattern, and “Searching for Tomorrow” confirmed that such is the case. While the record certainly isn’t bad by any means, it doesn’t seem to offer up much to hold the attention of even the casual listener. The three tracks featuring Josh Dally on vocals are some of the melodically weakest of the frequent collaborators’ works together (whereas 2021’s “Faded Touch” from Timecop, featuring multiple appearances from Dally, were among their strongest collaborations).
The one positive thing, and greatest strength of “Searching for Tomorrow” is its final tracks. Although the record carries on weakly through the majority of its playtime, it picks up a little bit at the end and actually holds up decently. The closer track, “Deckards Dream,” is easily the high point of the album for me. It is entirely instrumental, but breaks from the typical formula pretty drastically with unique percussive effects and synth tones not frequently used by Timecop. It’s dark and ambient and something I would absolutely love to hear more of in future releases – a truly redeemable moment for an album that just didn’t quite scratch the synthwave itch the way I had hoped it would.
Even if “Searching for Tomorrow” fell short of what I know Timecop1983 is capable of (listen to 2018’s “Night Drive” to hear him at his peak), I will always look forward to new releases in hopes of a return to the strength of his early work – this one just wasn’t it.
Overall Rating: 5.9/10
Top Tracks:
– Until the End
– Read My Mind
– Deckards Dream