Electronic Pop/Rock: All The Same Now?
I ran across the band (or guy) A-B Theory recently and I really enjoyed the songs but it brought up the question, is all electronic pop/rock the same? Ever since The Postal Service came out with their album, it seems to be the formula everyone replicates. Mellow beats with vocals that are soft and perfectly blended with the music.
Tags: A-B Theory, electronic pop, music, the postal service
March 10th, 2008 at 6:28 pm
Well, The Appleseed Cast’s definitely doesn’t seem to like that formula, which is a relief. I agree that everyone’s been jumping on that bandwagon though. Big fan of the site by the way!
March 10th, 2008 at 8:14 pm
i don’t know if i would call the appleseed cast “electronic pop/rock”
they are working on a new album by the way. (Why did i think they broke up?)
thanks so much for visiting the site.
March 12th, 2008 at 3:56 pm
I agree with you that all indie/pop electronica sounds like the postal service. I think its mainly cause that album was so huge with indie kids and normal kids. Everyone likes the postal service, my parents like the postal service. Its hard to have someone listen to it and not like it.
So i think the bands like prp and the a-b theory and the secret handshake and whoever else are huge fans of that album so it shows in the songwriting.
However i dont think all electronica is the same – Reggie and the Full Effect are at times an electronica band (take me home is pure electronica) and he sounds nothing like the postal service since he was doing his stuff before the postal service started.
I checked out the a-b theory – the dude is good. there’s no denying that. Is he stealing the postal service formula? No. I say this because there hasn’t been a electronica band that has had the same success and overall appeal since they came out. So the only comparison you have for the a-b theory or playradioplay is the postal service – you have one band that will always draw the comparison because that is the band everyone knows.
If a pop punk band comes out and is huge people say – well they sound like green day mixed with blink 182, but darker sounding like the early alkaline trio albums and the singer sounds like the guy from thursday or whatever…
Any metal band will be compared to three other bands, any rapper will be compared to more than one rapper.
The a-b theory sounds like the postal service because that has been the big electronica band.
If you download his ep from absolutepunk.net – there is a slow dark song that ends with heavy distorted guitars. Lyrically – i think he is like ben gibbard or conor oberst, he isnt singing goofy pop songs over a drum machine and some synths. He is singing about drug abuse and personal demons (as well as a couple broken heart love songs).
Anyways – I don’t think its an unwarranted comparison to the postal service for the a-b theory or play radio play, the songs are good – its not like saying every kid who sits and messes with reason sounds like the postal service – the a-b theory and playradioplay are writing songs that compete with the postal service. If they were people wouldnt compare them to the postal service – they wouldn’t give them that honor.
Also – i think its more common in electronica these days for the band to use vocoders or auto tune their voice to sound like shit – (the secret handshake and new artica) I think that is more common than a few kids making music and drawing comparisons to the postal service.
Anyways end of my long rant – so in conclusions.
the a-b theory is pretty good – if you havent go download his album from the website in his myspace name.