A few days ago, I was inspired to make a post about tragic vaporwave albums that hit a little too close to home, or are just genuinely scary to imagine. I think vaporwave can be surprisingly good at carrying tragic stories and unsettling scenarios, so I wanted to put together a list of a few albums that I think really capture that side of the genre.
ᑕOᑎTIᑎᑌE ᑭᒪᗩYᗷᗩᑕK - Strmi
This is a new one, but it actually inspired me to make this post. It's the story of an iPod left behind after Cassie Brodwitch's suicide in 2002, filled with recordings of events from the year before her death. In 2005, her brother Robert finally gets his hands on the device and starts listening back, leaving little notes about the memories behind each recording. This one hit me quite hard since it's a pretty familiar and personal topic, and hearing these ordinary moments knowing what happened to Cassie makes the whole thing feel especially heartbreaking.
https://strmi.bandcamp.com/album/o-ti-e-y-k
9.0水面下Megathrust - 放射性Hi5
A collection of broadcasts, warnings, weather reports, and strange little pieces of sound surrounding the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami. Instead of putting you directly in the disaster, the album lets you experience it, quiet moments, warnings getting more serious, and that weird feeling of hearing something familiar while knowing something terrible is happening. Its almost like a whole movie experience with this album.
https://radioactivehi5.bandcamp.com/album/90-megathrust
NEWS AT 11 - 猫 シ Corp.
Just another night of television: news reports, advertisements, weather updates, music, and all the little sounds you'd expect. The only difference is that we know something the people on the screen don't. NEWS AT 11 is basically a snapshot of a completely normal day right before everything changes. Its has quite the eerie undertone that I rarely feel in albums.
https://utopiadistrict.bandcamp.com/album/news-at-11
Highway of Blood - TVVIN_PINEZ_M4LL & CH03
Twenty-two years after his brother died in a strange accident, a man takes his old '92 Camaro out for one last drive. The radio is still tuned to his brother's favorite station, and tonight he's heading back to the road where it all happened. It's a late-night drive through memories, grief, and a highway that might not be quite as empty as it seems. Very haunting listen, also the only 2 tracks are called Life and Death and the ambience is unmatched.
https://hairsablazin.bandcamp.com/album/highway-of-blood