While the pop music hasn’t fully escaped the pulsing yoke of the euro-house four on the floor brigade just yet, 2012 and 2013 have signaled a steady, if perhaps not seismic, shift in the mainstream climate. Rihanna and Bruno Mars both scored massive singles with stripped down ballads; Mars, Justin Timberlake, Pharrell, and Daft Punk revived funk and disco, ruling the charts with throwback sounds and old school cool. In particular, the latter two have done their damnedest to bring both the dance floor fever and devotion to musical craftsmanship that typified much disco era music (no matter how reviled it might have become by the end of the 70s).
The results are undeniable, and while there’s a bit of the chicken and egg question when it comes to some of the bigger names, it’s hard to ignore that popular music is leaning more towards the organic and the nostalgic than it has in the recent past.
In a window increasingly saturated with throwbacks, there still exists plenty of room for play and exploration. Swedish duo Mood Blanc lovingly crafts a groovy single with “On the Radio.” Nods to the 70s and 80s (in particular), “On the Radio” is warmly nostalgic and immediately accessible, cleverly playing off of its influences. Even the lyric “Every little thing you do, it matters/To me” is a clever tweak, reminiscent of The Police’s “Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic,” a slight curveball that drums up memory while smartly playing on expectation–all while remaining satisfyingly pop-y.
To add dimension to the music, the band has built a loose story around “On the Radio” and two singles that will follow it this fall. Their mission statement neatly sums up the goal of the music:
“Mood Blanc is all about the good things in life. Love, leisure and laziness. The feeling you have inside after a day on a beach and the nightlife yet to be explored. We wouldn’t mind hearing our music, sitting on the sun terrace at the Hôtel de Paris.“
Check out “On the Radio” below.
