sund0wn wrote:BoC feel stuck in creative stagnation. They peaked early and everything since then points to late-career decline. TH already leaned into a partly failed reinvention: cinematic, ambient, hevy on apocalypse nostalgia. Fans (and critics) wrapped it in so much artsy interpretation (in line with strategic promotion of the album) that the discourse covered this view obvious for non-fans.
What makes t worse is how disconnected they seem from modern music. While techno and dance music have exploded globally (people meeting, dancing & sweating together) BoC sound like they exist in a parallel universe. Their music increasingly feels like it's made for isolation, headphones on, lights off, rather than for being alive among other people. Old men music basically: withdrawn and hermetic, telling listeners to retreat and be fearful instead of engaging (the WORLD).
If Inferno continues this ambient-cinematic drift, it likely be a deeper slide into legacy and failed reinvention. Inferno will be a major disappointment to fans but they will buy it anyway and they will fool themselves it's actually good. Inferno will be legacy bias for sure. It will be the last album before the inevitable cashing in by selling boxes and collections (what we've already seen happening last year).
Inferno will be a negative dark smear in their legacy and likely provide a case of failed innovation at best. You could describe it as a Tutu or You're under Arrest compared to the free spirit of Bitches Brew or On (the corner).
Please prove me wrong BoC. I get the nihilism and dystopian view on the world but the world really needs more lightheartedness and waaayy more positive vibes. I really hope Inferno isn't as hellish as it sounds. I won't wait for it and it will most likely be the last album I'll ever buy from them.
I disagree with pretty much everything you've said here.
The world has plenty of happy-go-lucky music, it does not need 'more' of that swill. That would actually be pretty tone-deaf, IMO, considering the current state of things.
And you're making a whole lot of assumptions based on an album you haven't even heard yet, lol. Inferno will not be purely 'ambient/cinematic' there will be percussive tracks and melodies, too.
You can't possibly know that Inferno is a 'dark smear on their legacy' when the album isn't even out yet. Jeez Louise.
