colby! - Gone To Bed (self-released)

For too long now, pop music has been seen as a shadow of its former self. A genre that seems little more than a money spinner for distant record label executives, a place of lowest common denominators, where gimmicks and cheap tricks, dance routines, and guest rappers hold sway of a form that has become such a transient thing in the face of the fickle winds of fad and fashion. A take-the-money-and-run scene for the powers-that-be.

But a glimmer of hope is found in artists such as colby! More than a glimmer, actually. Blending pop’s infectiousness and accessibility with more robust elements from the alternative and underground scenes, such as rock’s drive, indie’s intrigue, and a spacious, clubland groove, she creates the sort of sound that is helping pop music to be taken seriously once more. Is this the start of a storming of pop’s current battered and bruised barricades? We can but hope.

Pop might not even be the correct term – alt-pop, pop-rock, indie-pop – but whatever you call it, you can’t deny that “Gone to Bed” isn’t a welcome alternative to the throwaway, landfill pop that has been clogging up the charts for longer than we can remember.

And it is not only sonically astute but lyrically smart, too. A narrative about the lack of communication, lack of commitment, and lack of understanding in a relationship, this might be a song that comes from a personal place, but it is a totally relatable tale.

It looks like Intelligent and creative pop music is back on the table. Hurrah!

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