Electronic / Chill wave
RIYL: The Midnight, Daft Punk, Vangelis
Defining music genres has always been a precarious thing. The label of indie has morphed from a description for unsigned bands, into something less homogenous. The same can be said for pop music. What is pop music, exactly? Is it saccharine tones written by a faceless backing band with a princess leading with auto tuned vocals? How about music that carries a full electronic aesthetic? In this writer’s opinion, taking the latter is more palatable than the former. Further, it has to do with a certain aesthetic.
This is where the band Blandbarn come in. Hailing from Stockholm, Sweden, the singular Sebastian Strömberg has produced some of the cleanest, “pop” music I’ve heard in a while. Yet, even labelling the music as pop has its problems. Instead, perhaps it is more apt to describe their newest release, Moscow Mule under a different genre entirely. From their Bandcamp page, Blandbarn labels their music as “synthwave” or “retrowave.” Now, while those labels also have their issues, they are more on the nose than the generality that is the “pop” label.
That said, “new retro wave” is such a better qualifier for what is contained on this short, but sweet synth masterpiece. Tracks like the lead song “Moscow Mule,” hearken back to the past, while carrying the 80s synthwave aesthetic into the present and future. The melodies on these songs, and others on the EP allow the listener to reminisce about days gone by while hearing something “new” in the here and now. While all aforementioned tracks are standouts on the record, every song, arrangement, and drum hit is stellar.
Ultimately, nothing says rad synth and film like Roland Electric Drums, fat synth lines, and airy saxophone. While just a solo project, I dare say that Blandbarn is top tier for the genre. If you are a fan of music from films like Tron, Blade Runner, or anything else that John Carpenter, Vangelis, et. al have touched – this is absolutely for you.
