The Importance Of A Hiatus
In music these days it seems that new albums from artists come out every year or without more than a one year break. This is of course mostly true of pop and trap artists but other genres having notable bands and artists that also release music this frequently. Bands such as Parquet Courts, Slaves and King Gizzard And The Lizard Wizard are all releasing music almost every year or in the latter case more than once in a year. In some ways this is excellent that in 2018 your favourite bands and artists are putting out this quantity of music but is the quality being affected?
In terms of pop music the aim is usually to stay relevant but putting out so many albums, mixtapes, EPs and singles as is the case is actually causing the reverse effect where artists are losing relevance quicker than before. It's definitely true that artists are gaining popularity quicker and gaining a higher level of success faster but that high level of success is not being sustained.
In the alternative scene it is becoming increasingly common to release an EP anywhere from a few months to just over a year after a major album release, to continue riding the waves of success and stay relevant in a time where rock, indie and folk are not in the mainstream. It can help breach the gap between albums and this year alone there have been EPs from Everything Everything, First Aid Kit, Nothing But Thieves, Nick Mulvey, Daniel Avery and Django Django; all the EPs have been to support an album released either last year or this year. They are all also very good EPs, but have all prevented any space for the bands or artists to take what is in my opinion an essential break between albums.
In my personal listening experience, artists are producing the best music they can usually only after a 1 - 4 year break. This is obviously not true of all artists but in my opinion an artist needs time to rest, reset and improve before they have something really worth releasing. What is the point if the artist isn't getting any better? It can sound dull and unoriginal if they aren't improving or changing. Take Coldplay for example, they've been making much the same sounding music since 2000 and the majority is boring and forgettable whereas an artist like Tame Impala changes and morphs their sound with each album, whilst retaining some of their original sound. This is, in my opinion, the perfect way to move forward, experimenting with different sounds and genres but staying true to yourself.
Some artists become quite hard to follow, completely changing their sound with each release. MGMT is a prime example of this, having lost a lot of their fans by doing this. They went from quirky indie pop with a definitive emphasis on the pop to psychedelic and experimental rock and then to dark synthpop and goth rock. I've loved the majority of their material but that's because you can always tell you're listening to one of their songs.
So when an artist goes on hiatus, when they take time away from the spotlight and the media, don't be disappointed at not being able to hear more of their music quicker because unless they stop making music or split up (in which case I apologise), it just means they should be coming back with better, newer, fresher music that is truer to themselves. It can give them new experiences to write about, new or improved skills with their instruments. It can be extremely boring to hear an artist singing about the same thing or using the same instrumentation over and over again and without a hiatus they just won't have the time to go out and experience and explore new things as all people should do.
In terms of pop music the aim is usually to stay relevant but putting out so many albums, mixtapes, EPs and singles as is the case is actually causing the reverse effect where artists are losing relevance quicker than before. It's definitely true that artists are gaining popularity quicker and gaining a higher level of success faster but that high level of success is not being sustained.
In the alternative scene it is becoming increasingly common to release an EP anywhere from a few months to just over a year after a major album release, to continue riding the waves of success and stay relevant in a time where rock, indie and folk are not in the mainstream. It can help breach the gap between albums and this year alone there have been EPs from Everything Everything, First Aid Kit, Nothing But Thieves, Nick Mulvey, Daniel Avery and Django Django; all the EPs have been to support an album released either last year or this year. They are all also very good EPs, but have all prevented any space for the bands or artists to take what is in my opinion an essential break between albums.
In my personal listening experience, artists are producing the best music they can usually only after a 1 - 4 year break. This is obviously not true of all artists but in my opinion an artist needs time to rest, reset and improve before they have something really worth releasing. What is the point if the artist isn't getting any better? It can sound dull and unoriginal if they aren't improving or changing. Take Coldplay for example, they've been making much the same sounding music since 2000 and the majority is boring and forgettable whereas an artist like Tame Impala changes and morphs their sound with each album, whilst retaining some of their original sound. This is, in my opinion, the perfect way to move forward, experimenting with different sounds and genres but staying true to yourself.
Some artists become quite hard to follow, completely changing their sound with each release. MGMT is a prime example of this, having lost a lot of their fans by doing this. They went from quirky indie pop with a definitive emphasis on the pop to psychedelic and experimental rock and then to dark synthpop and goth rock. I've loved the majority of their material but that's because you can always tell you're listening to one of their songs.
So when an artist goes on hiatus, when they take time away from the spotlight and the media, don't be disappointed at not being able to hear more of their music quicker because unless they stop making music or split up (in which case I apologise), it just means they should be coming back with better, newer, fresher music that is truer to themselves. It can give them new experiences to write about, new or improved skills with their instruments. It can be extremely boring to hear an artist singing about the same thing or using the same instrumentation over and over again and without a hiatus they just won't have the time to go out and experience and explore new things as all people should do.
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