It’s Been Awhile

I know it’s been awhile since I last posted. Part of the reason was that I was traveling in warmer climes where time on the beach was more important than writing my blog (sorry but it’s true). The bigger inhibitor has been a lack of decent music to get excited about. Just this week I listened to the new ROSALIA album and The Regrettes EP. I thought that one or hopefully both would be worthy of a full on blog. Alas that was not to be.

ROSALIA typically produces this interesting fusion of flamenco and euro pop. Not only does that make her music different but exciting. Flamenco music is high energy and helps elevates the more pedestrian euro pop. Unfortunately, she has been drifting away from the flamenco and inhabiting the euro pop space too much. She once produced something unique and now it’s pretty run of the mill pop music.

The Regrettes were about as different from ROSALIA as one can get. Their combination of 70s bubblegum pop and punk took the patterns laid down by bands such as the Ramones and brought them into the 21st Century. They too have abandoned their original style in favor of dull and repetitious conventional indie pop music. If they had stuck with the bubblegum and lost the punk, they would still be worth listening to. Instead, they dumped both with only the smallest sliver punk sensibilities left. Their latest EP sounds like every other indie band.

It’s sad to see artists gain traction via a unique mix of styles only to degenerate into the more staid and common pop styles. I’m hoping these are just anomalies for both sets of artists.