Originally Posted by mechakronic

Hey guys, this is my first time posting but this has really been bugging me. This song by Empire of the Sun called Walking on a Dream (since I'm not allowed to post url's yet, the youtube tag is this: /watch?v=eimgRedLkkU) sounds to me so much like a song out of the 80s. Why? What is it about the melodius synth and monotonic singing that makes my ear scream 80s?

Can anyone point to a band and possibly a specific song that parallels this modern song? It seems to me one thing that limits (and helps) the search is that Walking on a Dream has no bass guitar and no electric guitar--the melody comes completely from the wavy-80s synth.

For whatever reason the first guy that comes to mind is Phil Collins but there's no way that's right. Possibly there's some similarities with the beginning of In the Air Tonight but once the breakdown and bass come in it veers. I was thinking also possibly Duran Duran or Electric Light Orchestra? I don't know.

An answer from someone who has extensive knowledge in 80s and 90s music would be greatly appreciated.