I have to say that I’m a big fan of music that doesn’t quite toe the line, that doesn’t line up behind tried and tested formulas, for that is the music that is more likely to surprise you and offer something new and original. In a way Breaking The Sun falls into that category, for whilst it isn’t being all “out there” and trying break the mould, it does take some well established genres and blur the boundaries between them. Death to musical tribalism, rahhhh!
It takes the infectiousness and melodic sensibilities of pop music, blends it with the chiming coolness of indie and then delivers it with just enough rock swagger to create a wonderfully dramatic dynamic. In short it dismantles the familiar sonic building blocks from the mainstream mega-genres, mixes them up and then uses that pile to build something fresh yet familiar. The brickwork may seem vaguely reminiscent but the architecture itself is actually wonderfully unique.
Some might see the signature sound of this song as being some sort of compromise between genres, but it is cleverer than that. Rather it takes only the best features that each style has to offer and leaves the baggage and cliche behind. So it has substance without carrying around bombast and bravado, it plays with subtle and supple melodies rather than showboating for effect, it has an inherent anthemic quality but its graceful lines and gentle builds are a world away from the usual foot on the monitor fare.
Pop-rock…or in this case indie-rock that is happy to embrace the popular market with open arms, is a wide genre. But whereas most who make music under its generic umbrella seem content to merely polish the rough edges off the usual rock sound or perhaps just pump up the muscle of a pop song to create impact, Arvidson shows that he is happier conducting music gene splicing experiments and if not creating a whole new musical genre at least show that those generic boundaries never really counted for much in the first place.
