The Pop Corporation

The Guardian have written an interesting piece called ‘Are Bands Dead?‘ Basically, it’s about the resurgence of solo acts and all that. Like we said, it’s interesting, but of course bands aren’t dead. There’s loads of good bands knocking about aren’t there? And some of them are really popular.

In indie, you’ve got Wet Leg, Black Country New Road, Lemon Twigs, Fontaines DC, Pigsx7, boygenius, Gilla Band and loads of other haven’t you? The 1975 aren’t exactly having a meagre time of it at the moment are they? And in hip hop, where there’s considerably less bands than there were in the ’90s, you’ve still got a few. The all encompassing and much copied Migos for one. Do Earthgang count or do we not include duos? Brockhampton were Tumblr’s favourite hip hop outfit by a mile. FLO have been a welcome return for the girlgroup lovers amongst us, and y’know, metal and punk aren’t exactly solo affairs are they?

It is interesting that the biggest room fillers tend to be solo acts, like Beyonce, Sheeran, Drake, etc, but in 2023, these solo artists very much shine a light on the teams around them, much like a quarterback in American Football is the figurehead of a larger group of players.

But even in traditionally solo pursuits like Eurovision, we just saw Maneskin being the biggest breakout act from those quarters in yeeeeears!

Established bands are having a moment too, with Paramore being everyone’s favourite thing and Blur selling out two dates at Wembley Stadium. My Chemical Romance’s return has been a massive success, winning over a new crop of emo and pop fans as well as cementing their place in the affections of their original fanbase.

But sure, if this was the ’70s, someone like Miley Cyrus would almost certainly be heading up a group before making her way solo, but isn’t this just a cyclical conversation we could have had in any decade? The ’80s, we had Madonna, Michael Jackson and Prince, and a crop of young groups came through punk, the burgeoning indie scene, metal and more.

The ’70s was the boom of singer-songwriters – solo acts going it alone on their personal artistic visions – but we also had some absolute behemoths of rock and funk in there too. Pick a decade, and you’ll see a bunch of solo artists and bands vying it out, so what makes this period of pop any different?

Is it technology? Singers don’t need a full band like they used to, if they’ve got someone on a laptop? Maybe. However, there’s always going to be a need for people feeling like they’re in a gang and playing music together. Musical is a communal activity. And this year, there’s bands we’ve not heard of yet who are about to be massive.

As ever, it’s interesting to think about music laterally, and wonder about the what-ifs and what-nots – that’s what makes music so much fun. It’s the dwelling on it. It’s the letting your brain run riot on half an idea. But it’s also about remembering that you shouldn’t read too much into a trend because, once your feet are moving or you’re bawling your eyes out at some stupid song, everything is alright in the world.

Next week: We make an equally spurious claim and don’t take our own advice.