FODDER
The Reinvention Era: A celebration of artists who innovated their sound and style Written by Lochlainn Heley For artists, there is nothing more inspiring or potentially fatal than a comeback. Audiences hate witnessing the crash and burn of beloved artists; yet, in spite of reservations, the chance to hear the old and new sounds of a favourite band is a dream fans hold close to heart. But, while the effort to revive old tunes is colossal, a musical rebirth doesn’t just exist as a reunion tour after a decade’s silence, even if that is how we’ve come to know the comeback . The perception of a musical rebirth as a return to a ‘classic sound’ is far too simplistic. It seems—even during an artist’s career—audiences tend to confuse constancy with continuity. What listeners truly desire is to hear continuity across a discography, thus listening to the same artist at different points in their lives. Constancy undermines that growth and leaves us music that is bored of itself. Not every artist should feel the need to reinvent the wheel, but if the comeback is viewed as another ‘next step’ rather than a return, then maybe it would be easier for audiences to celebrate the beloved artists who re-enter our lives. For Farrago, here is Radio Fodder’s list of notable artists who have hit reinvention-era gold.
Honourable mentions:
1. Jonas Brothers’ Happiness Begins (2019)
The Wiggles
The explosive joy from fans following the release of the brothers’ 2019 reunion album Happiness Begins was unmistakable, not to mention the surprise approach to their reunion with commercial pop. After their 2013 break-up, Nick and Joe appeared to signal some semblance of adulthood in the pop–R&B–soul scene, but songs on Happiness Begins, namely ‘Sucker,’ re-present the classic Jonas Brothers set-up of drum-bass-guitar from their old albums and passionately display their artistic growth with self-aware lyrics and a 2019 staple of stripped back beats to create headbanging momentum. It’s a full circle reunion that finds new joy in a genre they once left behind.
Their popularity has grown with fans who now flock to concerts and adults-only shows as though they are five years old again. Shania Twain: While fans adored Twain’s impressive strides into mesh pop, rock and glam, rock and pop critiques have regularly disavowed her style. She is unique for the sole reason why she didn’t change—we did.
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