A Sea Change in Rock Music

I've heard a lot of folks complain how 2017 was hyped as the indie rock would make a comeback, but instead it has easily been the worst year for rock music that my generation has lived through and it seems like all the bands from the indie-rock revival of the 2000s are truly on their last leg.
Wanted to take a minute to shed light on a sea change that I see happening in rock music and a new breed of songwriters emerging.

*I feel like I should mention that there WERE great rock records that came out last year in 2016 - such as David Bowie’s “Black Star” and Radiohead’s “A Moon Shaped Pool” - and that not only were these records perhaps the most personal records that these artists have in their entire discography, but also pushed rock music into territory it had not been in before (such as Bowie creating an ensemble of some of the greatest new jazz musicians around for “Black Star” and Greenwood’s orchestration on “A Moon Shaped Pool” being more prominent than on any other of their records).  However, I don't see this as the path that most rock songwriters will follow - as these paths are not easy one’s to go down without collaboration - not everyone can play like the all-star ensemble of new jazz players that Bowie recruited and there is absolutely no one in the rock community who can orchestrate like Greenwood (other than when bands recruit Nico Muhly)…*  

**and to clarify - I'm not talking about mainstream/rock-radio music which hasn't been worth listening to since rock radio stations had to follow locked playlists** 

ANYWAY - Let’s start get the worst out of the way first: 

Arcade Fire’s debut “Funeral” is undoubtedly one of the greatest indie rock albums of the 2000s.  Every record they’ve put out after that has gotten consistently weaker - but this new record, "Everything Now" is much bigger dip and an all time low for them.  This soulless disco failure is straight up gag-worthy.  It’s hard for me to even tell if they’re serious on this…if it’s a joke, it’s not a very good one. 

Wolf Parde’s new album, "Cry Cry Cry" lacks the good songwriting that made their early work so compelling.  The first and last songs by Spencer are decent - but pale in comparison to almost any of his work with other projects he’s done.  

The new Grizzly Bear album, “Painted Ruins” lacks any excitement and sense of the magic of their earlier work.  The lyrics are once again more cryptic at times - but the mystical mystery that was present on the abstract lyrics of “Yellow House” are no longer present and as complex as the compositions are and as much as they work to try to make interesting grooves - they fail to be engaging or to make any emotional connection.  

Dirty Projectors’ first new album in 5 years (self titled) shows Dave Longstreth trying out more of a modern R&B sound - and while his arrangements on Solange’s album “A Seat at the Table” did add a lot and is a significant part of why that album is so great - on his own he fails to really sound authentic in the genre, falling into cliches.  And although he’s never been a phenomenal lyric writer (often choosing words for their sonic quality rather than their meaning) lyrically this breakup album really falls flat.  

The National’s “Sleep Well Beast” has some really good songs (like "The System Only Dreams in Total Darkness" and "Guilty Party"), has some solid lyric writing, the production is better than the last couple albums, and I think they did a decent job of creating an atmosphere on it and I like some of the textural elements.  But the songs themselves are not up to par (some tracks I need to skip on the later third).  This record more often than not sounds like the band has exhausted the formula of their song-writing and although are trying to push forward in new sonic directions, fail to truly deliver with it.  The worst part of the record is the orchestration.  At his best Bryce Denser sounds like a bad Nico Muhly impersonator.  I’m not angry that this record exists - but it does bring up the real need for collaboration and dims my hopes that the National can ever come out with another great record.  

"Crack Up" is the Fleet Foxes first album in 6 years - It's not as catchy as their debut and not as focused as their follow up, “Helplessness Blues", and instead shows the Fleet Foxes trying out something more progressive, dense, and experimenting more with song structure with mixed results (as this is not what this band does best).  

There are plenty more indie-rock records (and rock records such as Beck and At the Drive In) that came out this year that failed to live up to the expectations that were set for them and I could go on for a while…but let’s just leave the bashing at that and go onto the the shift that is happening: 

The shift that is happening 

I think Spencer kind of nails why all these bands are sucking right now (including the band he's in, Wolf Parade) on the closing track of their new album “Cry Cry Cry” when he sings:

“How can we sing about ourselves?

How can we sing about love?

How can we not sing about love?

How can we not sing about ourselves?”

It’s simply really hard to write about the terrifying shit that’s happening in the world - and maybe it’s not for some people to make art about right now.  But simultaneously I completely understand how it seems extremely silly to continue writing about yourself in a time when so much is happening in the world - And I think this is what a lot of these song writers are struggling with.  I also think that the song forms / way of writing pop music have been exhausted and the way that these 2000s indie rock bands are writing in is no longer relevant - and they’re all trying to figure out what to do now.  While some are trying to be more progressive and complex (such as Grizzly Bear and Fleet Foxes) and falling flat because of loosing all emotional connection, while others are trying to fit into existing scene/genre’s that are currently relevant (such as Dirty Projector’s failed foray into R&B) - none of the direction that these bands are taking is leading anyone anywhere worth going.  

The shift that I see happening is towards a more direct style of writing - one in which the song writer is more linked to the listener - on a pure emotional, raw, spiritual and visceral level - a style that is based on telling direct experiences, without the need to camouflage it in metaphor and allegory.  One of the people most responsible for this shift happening is Mark Kozleck, specifically with his 2015 record “Benji”.  And Mark Kozlek has continued to push this direction even further with his more recent output - becoming even more personal and stream of conscious - often resembling more of a journal than a lyric form.

But it is this album, "Benji" that has been sited by other song writers as an inspiration to an overwhelming degree - maybe most noticeably by Phil Elvurm in which he sites "Benji" as an influence on his new record “A Crow Looked at Me” in which he deals with the recent passing of his wife and reflects on his new life as a single father.  In the linear notes he states "The things that happened to me and my close people seemed incompatible with any kind of artistic expression, the idea seemed perverse...Then I heard "Benji" by Sun Kil Moon...and it occurred to me that there might be value in just saying the things that had happened, describing the events without attempting wisdom or big statements."   

The new singer-songwriters that have been emerging are continuing to forge this path.  One of the most notable examples is Adrianne Lenker of Big Thief - whose recent writing has stayed as personal and intimate as their debut, but has taken on a more mystical and mysterious vibe.  The best example of this that jumps to mind is the song "Mythological Beauty" in which Adrianne reflects on her childhood relationship with her mother and a near death traumatic event.  

In some ways I see this as the new start (or new phase) in a cycle.  A sort of equivalent to the restart of songwriting in rock music in the 70s with punk rock - when musicians wanted to drop the technicality of the progressive rock music that was happening and return to the roots and raw feeling of rock and roll that could be accessible to anyone (unlike the more cerebral music of the progressive rock bands at the time).  Not only did you not need to be a trained musician to listen to this music and appreciate it, you didn't need to be a trained musician to play it or write it - anyone could pick up a guitar and start a punk band.  And that's kind of how I see this new shift in songwriting - anyone can relate to the direct stories that a songwriter is singing if they're real...and everyone has real experiences that they can sing about - so in a sense it's a style that is an easy one to adopt.  And I feel like people are ready for this and are open to this kind of radical honesty in songwriting since people are beginning to see the cathartic value in telling their stories, and how in doing so it is possible to shift how people perceive and understand the society we are living in (such as with the #MeToo phenomenon).  

In some ways I guess this is the path that I have begun to gone down with some of my recent song-writing - so perhaps I'm a bit biased in my way I'm viewing this (lol)...but since I've heard so many people complain about the state state of rock music in 2017, I  wanted to share this positive shift that I see happening to shed some light on this new direction in songwriting. 

Much love,

<3

Mike Sim