For years we’ve wrestled with genres. Every time we release an album, we’re asked to squeeze it into a neat little box. The distributors, reviewers and radio stations want a genre. Potential listeners ask what genre we are before they’ve even heard a note. The trouble is, I genuinely don’t know. Yes, we’re an alternative rock band, but that only tells part of the story.
One song might be loud, gritty and full of distorted guitars. The next might be reflective, emotional and based around piano, pads and strings. Another might lean towards electronic sounds combined with rock and have a completely different feel again.
If someone listens to one track, they might think they’ve got us figured out. Then the next song starts and suddenly they’re wondering if they’re listening to the same band.
It wasn’t always this complicated. Years ago it felt much easier – you essentially had rock, pop, country, jazz and dance. Of course there were variations, but for the most part people seemed happy with broad categories. Now every genre has multiple sub-genres. For example Country has traditional country, outlaw country, Americana, country rock, country pop and plenty more. Dance music is divided into house, trance, drum and bass, techno, EDM and endless variations in between where once it would just be called ‘disco’! The deeper you dig, the more complicated it becomes.
I’ve heard people say that streaming services don’t really care about genres anymore, instead they focus on moods. That makes sense in theory as someone searching for uplifting music doesn’t necessarily care whether it’s rock or pop. They’re looking for a feeling. But even that doesn’t solve the problem entirely.
Imagine you’ve written a slow, emotional song using distorted guitars, live drums and driving bass. It might create exactly the mood someone is looking for, but sonically it could be completely different from the acoustic folk or electronic pop that appears in the same playlist. Mood describes only part of the song, and genre only part too. Neither really explains what we’re about, let alone how we see ourselves.
As musicians, we tend to create whatever feels right for the song rather than worrying about whether it fits neatly into one category. As artists our music evolves – every new song is another opportunity to explore something different, if we choose to. Trying to reduce all of that to a single genre feels a bit like describing a meal by saying it contains salt. It’s technically true, but it doesn’t tell you much.
So nowadays, when someone asks me what genre we are, I usually give the only honest answer I can. “Have a listen and you tell me. After two or three songs you’ll probably have your own opinion, and it might even change as you keep listening.” Maybe that’s exactly how music should be. I’d much rather people discover us with their ears than with a label.
