Borns (2018)

One Liner: One good album of psych rock pop, then one less good album of synth pop.

Wikipedia Genre: Indie pop, psychedelic pop, alternative rock, synth-pop, electropop
Home:  Michigan.

Poster Position: 5
Day: Friday at 3:45
Both Weekends.

Thoughts: This guy was here in 2015, and I was pretty lukewarm about him back then.  Unfortunately for him, his most popular song from back then continues to be his most popular song now.  So, although he released a 2018 album, it isn't quite lighting the world on fire.  First, here is that old song, "Electric Love," which I actually like pretty well.  Kind of a 70's rock vibe.  151.8 million streams.

Oh yeah.  I do like that tune.  It has a HAIM-like sound in it several times throughout.  Now that I am remembering this guy, I saw his show in 2015 and liked it, and then he put out a full album and I dug that as well.  Kinda psych rock-ish, less electronic sadness than I thought when I first reviewed him.  Although some of it is a little too 80's synth rock for me ("Past Lives" is a good example).

Uh oh, but now I'm listening to the new album (Blue Madonna), and it is no where near as good as the old (Dopamine).  That is unfortunate.  Much more of an 80's synth sound, less of the good guitar licks that made the older album better.  The opening track features Lana Del Rey doing her breathy/torchy vocals, over kind of annoyingly insistent synth notes and a spare beat.  The most popular track off of that album is not that one, but is instead one called "Sweet Dreams," with 11.9 million streams.

Definitely better than most of the rest of the album.  Its too bad that he leans so heavily on the synths in the new one, leaving behind the guitar and adventure.

The guys name is just Garrett Borns, but his band name actually has a stylized "o" in it with a slash through it.  What do you call that?  A slash o.  If you want to dive deeply into usage of that character, here you go.  His Wikipedia says "At the age of 10, he was a professional magician going by the name of "Garrett the Great", both performing at parties and getting paid for it."  Wow.  How could he have let that great stage name go?  If he had already built up a loyal following of magic lovers in Grand Rapids, Michigan, you'd think he would keep the name and capitalize on the cachet created.

Spotify has a live album - Spotify Sessions recorded live at SXSW in 2015, and it sounds pretty solid.  Much more of a rock and roll show - live drums, etc.  So I'd be curious to know if he is going to go full synth band now, or keep the real band vibe going.  I think I'd be up for checking this one out.