Shortwire - Digital Horizon

Croatian synthwave producer Shortwire has been in business since he released his debut single 'Reconfig' in 2018. The three-minute and fifty-two second single blew up in popularity and introduced the world to his form of retro-futuristic sounds and cyberpunk edge. Since then he has been remixed by the likes of Chris Keya, SHIKIMO, CYBERTHING!, Le Brick, and Misanthropix while releasing a steady stream of singles. 'Digital Horizon' is his latest addition to his collection. Though it covers the necessary ground to be considered a synthwave song, I feel as if some momentum is lost in this track due to its inability to match both the energy and crispness of his previous songs. 



Looking through Shortwire's discography, the likes of 'Prosthetics' and 'Reconfig' due to their wonderous mixing. The layers are crisp and clear and often times the bass pops up enough to make the dance-centric rhythm of the song danceable. I feel as if something has gone wrong with 'Digital Horizon' as the sound of the single just feels altogether squished. If the intention was to have a lo-fi sound, I get it. But, there also needs to be a balance; I feel as if a lot of the sounds on the song are well too equalized and nothing really stands out. Whereas I should be feeling this thumping bassline I'm not. 

What I will say, however, is that if this song were mixed a bit better, there would be a banger for sure. A ton of the sounds are wonderful on the album and the electronic-kets solo near the two-minute and thirty-second mark is a thing of beauty. The retro-futuristic touch is alive and well on 'Digital Horizon' and I can't put any faults there. I just wish the mixing were a bit better. 

'Digital Horizon' is good, but it fails to impress me more than that. I'd much rather dive into Shortwire's previous songs such as 'Reconfig', but I can take this one for what it is. Six-and-a-half out of ten. 

This review was commissioned through our Ko-fi page.
Dec 07 2021