Most people throughout life grow up, and with that comes a more sophisticated human. People change their hobbies, their habits and their friends. Influences come from all sorts of different directions: other people close to them, idols, television and other forms of media etc. This is the case with artists too, and like with people, there are some out there who will not like the change. This demonstrates how precious time can be with bands; savour their music because you never know what kind of malfunctioning clap-trap will come bursting out of them next.
As bands change, the fanbase changes. To all the hipsters out there who when they go and see a newish band at a small club, don't get upset when they upgrade to a bigger venue because they released a catchy song to hump the Top 40, and as a result more posers are turning up. It happens, it's the equivalent of musical prostitution or a one-night stand, and they may live to regret that.
Arctic Monkeys
Everybody's favourite British indie monsters Arctic Monkeys rapidly blew us all away with a suckerpunch of a first album. 'Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not' was the dream debut for the Sheffield quartet, culminating in two No.1 singles ('I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor' and 'When The Sun Goes Down') and scooping the Mercury Music Prize in 2006. The genre of the album was essentially British indie rock for the youth, with subject matter relying on topics that would strike a chord with young people e.g. lost love and funnily enough, prostitutes. I must admit, this writer was a little wary of how quickly everyone took to the band, and in my phase of extreme musical snobbery (when I believed that Green Day were still the best thing in the world), I initially dismissed them as "alright, but a bit overhyped for what they are" (I gather some of you will be choking on your chicken after noticing the incredible irony of that statement). Anyway, I didn't think they would last too long, but Alex Turner's enthusiasm to churn out as many albums as quickly as possible has fuelled their long term fame, and after releasing fourth album 'Suck It and See' in 2011, they have turned up the fuzz on the guitars and Alex Turner comes off as a very sexy Northerner. In 2006 they sounded close to bands like The Strokes, whereas now with the fourth album it's closer to the garage stoner-rock of Queens of the Stone Age, probably due to their new found friendship with Josh Homme of said band. Personally, I am a fan of this particular evolution.
Notice the evolution:
Biffy Clyro
Proud Scots Biffy Clyro are a driving force for angular rock music, or at least they used to be; nowadays they have replaced 'angular' with a more familiar word such as 'generic', but the strange aura is still there in small doses. My previous statement doesn't mean that they have turned bad though, as I still maintain that 'Only Revolutions' is my favourite album of all time. Debut 'Blackened Sky' was released in 2002 and proved that even after the death of Nirvana eight years prior to it, there was still hope for loud three-pieces who played proper rock music. '57' featured awkward time signatures with a drumbeat that air drummers would feel funny drumming to, and like '57', 'Joy.Discovery.Invention' demonstrated the vocal powers of all three members. Throughout the albums leading up to 2006's 'Puzzle' ('The Vertigo Of Bliss' and 'Infinity Land'), the band stuck with the formula of making raucous noise, but songs managed to get weirder and weirder, with new instruments being introduced and strange song titles. A good example of this is the song '
There's No Such Thing As A Jaggy Snake' from 2004's 'Infinity Land' (if your favourite Biffy song is 'Many of Horror', I dare you to listen to this). A song that has everything: quiet dual-vocals, incomprehensible screaming and crushing rhythms that if it were a punch, it would take your head right off. In the aftermath of 'Puzzle' and 'Only Revolutions', Biffy alienated the odd few fans who yearned for their explosive heaviness, but they gained much wider recognition by including some catchier numbers such as 'A Whole Child Ago' and 'Many of Horror'. Not to say they still aren't heavy, as songs like 'Cloud of Stink' and the mathematics that is 'That Golden Rule' should testify.
Notice the evolution:
Muse
With musical transitions so abstract and clear that Madonna refused to release their second album in the United States, Muse are a perfect example of musical evolution. Beginning life as the accused spawn of Radiohead, the band chalked up a few enemies (or as Matt Bellamy called them: "lazy journalists") as youngsters for making hints that they were the second coming of the Oxford quintet. With a falsetto vocalist and indie riffs it was easy to make such a comparison, but the band didn't let this compromise their progress. They toured, toured and toured for their lives, which has now helped cement their place as the best live band in the world. With the mix of melodic piano and dirty guitars on debut 'Showbiz' from 1999, they set a precedent. This album would later go on to inspire Chris Martin to get Coldplay on their way to making second album 'A Rush of Blood To The Head'. As 'Origin of Symmetry' and 'Absolution' came whizzing around the corner in 2001 and 2003 respectively, new sounds had been absorbed from the ionosphere. Heavy organs on 'Space Dementia', American metal influences on 'The Small Print' and piano crescendos on 'Apocalypse Please' were all testament to Bellamy's views on modern politics and religion, which planted the seeds of evolution in Muse. As not seen on the first album though, 'Origin of Symmetry' and 'Absolution' both paved the way for Muse to release their Rage... their Rage Against The Machine that is. With RATM guitarist Tom Morello being a massive influence on Bellamy, the guitars were detuned and the riffs were seismic (see 'New Born', 'Micro Cuts', 'Dead Star' and 'Hyper Music' for what I mean). 2006 brought about 'Black Holes & Revelations', a Mercury-nominated album influenced by many things including Morricone and New York club music, that took apart the modern world and shoved spaghetti western in there for the hell of it. You would never hear songs as bonkers and amazing as 'Knights Of Cydonia' and 'Map Of The Problematique' on 'Showbiz'. Finally in 2009 when 'The Resistance' came out, Muse had reached a new level of maturity. They still had the dance-groove that they carried over from 'Black Holes & Revelations', but one word sprang to mind on some songs: grandiose. 'United States of Eurasia' is a destructive fist-pumper of a piano anthem, and has Queen written all over it, and finally, the 'Exogenesis' three-part symphony composed by Bellamy himself. 90's kids probably never envisioned that the three-piece who coined 'Plug In Baby' would go on to compose a 13 minute symphony, yet still be distinctive enough to sound like Muse. As for my view, I pretty much love every song they do, but I have my favourites, and they are usually the ones with heavy guitars.
Notice the evolution:
Radiohead
Listening to Radiohead initially inspired me to write this article because they are basically the kingpins of change. Formed in Oxford in 1985, but not finding fame until the release of hit single 'Creep' in 1993, the debut effort 'Pablo Honey' failed to cause much of a stir. Taking a Brit-rock grunge style and singing about teen angst was their forte, but it did nothing to exactly set the world alight. It was clear that a change in direction was needed. Next came 'The Bends' in 1995, which is my personal favourite Radiohead album. Still keeping their triple guitar line-up meant they were still rocking out, but it was more Jeff Buckley than Pixies. The album was a much bigger success than 'Pablo Honey' and would go on to achieve triple platinum status in the UK and is consistently ranked among the greatest albums in the world, along with follow-up album 'OK Computer', released in 1997. Both albums delivered a message that Radiohead were the saviours of rock, and following those albums, fans and critics anticipated something even better, bigger and bolder. Boy were they in for a shock when 'Kid A' (2000) and 'Amnesiac' (2001) were brought into the world. With singer Thom Yorke becoming increasingly frustrated with the musical direction of the band and battling his own depression, he decided to do things his way and convinced the band to take on a more electronic and unconventional approach, being under the influence of the music he was currently listening to. They were still classed as a rock band, but it was about to become so underground and alternative that it was closer to electronica and jazz. Following up an album with epics like 'Paranoid Android' (known as the 90's Bohemian Rhapsody) and 'Lucky' was never going to be easy, but it was a shock to the system when snippets of the albums were released, and tracks such as 'Idioteque' and 'Everything In Its Right Place' were seen as the answer to what the fans cried out for. Naturally this alienated a lot of the fans who had come to love Radiohead as the depressing rockers they once were, but they grew; they evolved. Nevertheless the album was a huge success and hit No.1 in the USA, which basically turned them into royalty across the pond. 'Hail To The Thief' (2003) saw a return to form for the band with a number of rock songs, but 'In Rainbows' (2007) and 'The King of Limbs' (2011) once again showed just how far the experimental quintet could take the rock genre. The evolution of this band in particular has been an interesting one, but I was only 2 years old when 'The Bends' was released, and I do wish I could've been old enough to pick up the CD brand new in 1995 and see them play the setlist live. Sadly with such a vast back catalogue I think I will have to keep on dreaming about seeing any of the songs off the album being played live.
Notice the evolution:
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