Gardens & Villa’s Dunes LP. Eric Swedlund, in Tuesday's Souciant.
My favorite use of synths is when they're understated, or don't sound like synths. Mouse on Mars' late 1990s releases, for Thrill Jockey, are a great example. They introduced me to Nord synths, which remain a favorite. I like Dave Smith Instruments synths, too. The Evolver is a gem.
Thanks for the introduction to Dunes, I'm liking what I'm hearing. The first track Domino definitely has an "Arcade Fire" feel to it. It's not just the synth but also the vocals that bring that comparison. I played in a band with a guy that had over 20 analog and digital synths. He had two Moogs that were a ton of fun. The thing about synths is that they're easy to miss-use. There are so many options at your disposal that musicians often fall in to the "kid in the candy shop" syndrome and want to use all of them. Good synth players don't get enough credit for being subtle because people don't equate subtlety with synthesizers. I like the way that bands like The Flaming Lips incorporate synth in to their music in a way that feels extremely analog, or "organic" (an overused word but couldn't think of another). Synth in accordance with acoustic guitars, strings, horns etc... does it get any better?