Neon Indian Gives Us His HuffPost Playlist

When Neon Indian first appeared on our radar with 2009's Psychic Chasms, blogs and major news sites alike treaded cautiously in their attempts to define this niche brand of synth-chillwave. Tracks like "Deadbeat Summer" and "Terminally Chill" perfected the upbeat-yet-languished synth sound that inspired descriptions like, "a much-blogged microtrend variously known as glo-fi and chillwave," and gave rise to articles wondering, "Is Chillwave the Next Big Music Trend?"

Whatever you'd like to call it, Neon Indian, otherwise known as one-man-outfit Alan Palomo, has it down. Palomo's latest effort, Era Extrana dropped earlier this month and was received warmly by critics, gaining a solid 77 on Metacritic. The album took shape in a sub-freezing, sense-deprived locale -- winter in Helsinki -- where the music was the only real warmth he could feel.

As for Palomo's personal music tastes, they're much in line with his own style. He provides a selection here that will not only expand your obscure musical library, but offers some insight into how this new-fangled chillwave synthpop found its footing in everything from electronica to shoegazing.

From the archives of Severed Heads to an 18-minute trip through Black Meteoric Star's "Dawn," we present Neon Indian's HuffPost Playlist, with Palomo's own descriptions for each track. To start us off, check out Neon Indian's latest music video for "Polish Girl."

Neon Indian's HuffPost Playlist: