Some artists stick to their guns throughout their careers, and some change, to come back to where they started. Or not. In either case, what counts is whether what they have achieved deserves merit and has worth to both artists and their listeners.
Maybe the key lies in the fact that sticking to your guns or moving elsewhere is something that comes naturally or you did it because you wanted to move with the times (or go backward).
For Bryan Ferry and Roxy Music, it seemed like a natural process to go from one of the originators of glam rock to music that some critics dubbed as smooth rock - from Virginia Plain to Avalon. Yet it seems it was always a combination of something old and something new, something that always depended on your talent, intuition, and inventiveness, something (with some inevitable bumps in the road) Ferry and Roxy Music always seemed to have.
Lydia Luce - (h)our glass
Listening to this song you might not guess Luce is based in Nashville, but Nashville is changing too, and that is what Luce shows here.
408 - Break Up With Your Girlfriend
The quartet that goes under the name of 408 is dubbed as alt-punk, but you can easily file them under the tag of general modern pop rock, whatever that includes, and whether you like it or not.
Thirty Seconds to Mars - Stuck
What goes t for 408 above can be applied to brothers Jared and Shannon Leto, who also go for that modern sound, but they seem to favor combining modern dance with some psych touches here.
JHart - Ripe
Another modern pop ditty, and you don’t have to wonder why JHart is an in-demand songwriter with the likes of Justin Bieber, Jason Derulo, and Rita Ora, among others.
Alicja-pop - I’m Here, I’m There
That pop tag Alicja uses might be a bit deceiving here, as her music, like this song moves in some not-so-familiar places with some intriguing arrangement touches to boot.
June McDoom - Emerald River Dance
McDoom boasts both Jamaican and American backgrounds where neither matters much as she goes into a very ambi-classical string arrangement here that really works.
LaToya Tillis - You’ve Made Me So Very Happy
It is always a courageous thing to tackle an R&B classic and give it modern touches, and Tillis does that with the Brenda Holloway classic and comes out completely unscathed.
Greg Kuehn - Medicine Man
The likes of Billy Joel, Elton John, and Ben Folds have set standards for what is dubbed as piano pop, but TSOL keyboard man Kuehn can reach that standard on this solo outing.
Ghost Woman - Yoko
This duo is in for some modern take on yer olde psych rock and due it justice with this song about Yoko, and you don’t have to guess much which Yoko is in question.
Myriam Gendron - Solace
When Gendron released her ‘Not So Deep As A Well’ album back in 2014 it got a lot of rave reviews but didn’t seem to register that much with a wider audience. Now it is getting a deserved reissue, with this as an excellent introduction.
The Palms - Talk Too Much
Los Angeles psych always had that recognizable West Coast touch within it, and Johnny Zambetti and Ben Rothbard who are The Palms do that sound justice here.
Off World - Impulse Controller
Off World is renowned for the the beaten-path artist/composer Sandro Perri and a cast of collaborators and in many ways, this left-field conglomerate proves what off world should actually sound like.
Terra Lightfoot - Keep You My Pocket
Lightfoot is such a songwriter and has such a powerful voice that she can easily get you into her pocket and keep you there for quite a while.
Divining Rod - Pull Me To The Light
Some gentle country rock from these guys that covers a wide (roots) ground between The Band all the way to Drive-By Trackers with quite a few other names you can throw in here.
Blues Traveller - Qualified
Blues Traveller is so seasoned that they have absolutely no problem covering this Dr. John classic, with some nice brass touches to make their version sparkle.
E.G. Phillips - Boil The Ocean
This San Francisco artist sounds like a cross between Nick Cave and Tom Waits here, with all the dark touches to go along, after all, we’ve been boiling the ocean(s) for quite a while now.
Gal Musette - Into The Blue
The term Baroque pop came into use back in the late sixties, it is still in use now and Musette surely fits within the genre, giving it quite a healthy update here.
Moon Walker - Monkey See, Monkey Do
This title has been used quite a few times, but this Brooklyn rocker tries to bring some fresh (or updated) sounds behind the title and succeeds along the way.
Tulipomania - You Had To Be There
These Philadelphia art rockers must be doing something right to be able to enlist Martyn Ware of the Heaven 17, The Human League fame, and their left-field electronica is quite welcome, thank you.
Michele Ducray - Ace of Spades
If you’ve expected a take (any take) on Lemmy and his Motorhead due to the title, you are, far far, far off, as this is your modern-day, oh-so-popular pop, quite well done, though.