Die-hard fans of popular bands can be disappointed with a solo or side projects from band members. They are too quick to judge an album that really is not supposed to sound like the main band in the first place. The whole point of a side project is to retreat from a band’s established style. It’s often hard for band members to stay confined to one music style while still experimenting.
It’s natural for artists to want to experiment, even if they are totally satisfied with the music they already make. For example, Matt Berninger, the lead singer of The National, formed El Vy in 2015 with Brent Knopf of Ramona Falls and Menomena. Berninger said the group was not a “creative escape” in a 2015 interview with Rolling Stone, but rather a way to occupy himself while on tour.
El Vy was not meant to sound like The National. But Pitchfork thought Berninger’s independent creative efforts should still sound like the band in its scathing review of El Vy’s 2015 release Return to the Moon.
The National and El Vy are meant to be separate creative endeavors and should be treated as such. But El Vy continually gets lumped into a cycle of music journalists and fans saying “But it’s not The National.”
It’s valid to compare the two because both are Berninger projects. To say one is not good because it’s a departure from the other, however, is an injustice to the side project.
The Last Shadow Puppets, the brainchild of Miles Kane and Arctic Monkeys’ Alex Turner, is also frequently compared to Arctic Monkeys. The two bands are standalone. Miles Kane gives as much input and work into the band as Alex Turner. And Arctic Monkeys fans always come out disappointed because it’s not Arctic Monkeys.
It’s always worth considering the other band member’s input in the band. El Vy is not all Berninger, and The Last Shadow Puppets is not all Turner. Knopf and Kane deserve a chance to work with a member of another band and let the project speak for itself.
Although it may be difficult to completely separate the side project from the main band, side projects should be listened to with an open mind. Side projects deserve listeners who can change their expectations about what an artist’s work should sound like.
Constraining an artist to one sound is creatively limiting. A complete departure from the band’s established sound can inspire an artist to experiment with that established sound.
Side projects are healthy departures from what can become a trap in how a band sounds. Working with different artists than the ones in the band can open an artist’s mind about music. It’s easy to limit artists on what they can sound like based on what they have sounded like in the past. But it’s important to remember artists can grow and learn through experience, and limiting them to their established sound stunts creativity.
Shelby Campbell is a freshman studying journalism and political science at Ohio University. Please note that the views and opinions of the columnists do not reflect those of The Post. Want to talk more about it? Let Shelby know by tweeting her @bloodbuzzohioan.
