At the height of synth pop’s dominance, the synthesizers themselves were quite limited by today’s standards; bands big and small were using the same Yamaha and Roland preset sound palettes. It’s especially noticeable on international synth pop hits of the period - suddenly, all these bands with wildly divergent backgrounds were playing with the same toys. South Africa’s Xalam pulls off the inverse “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’,” melding a stunning imitation MJ beat to African melodies, and Ariel Pink would kill for the kitschy warmth of “Disco Deewane.”