Music from the more mainstream pop realms has never really had much of a reputation for delivering important messages to the masses. But then, that has never been its job. The brief of such zeitgeist-driven music has always been more about entertainment, the creation of music that is the soundtrack to nights out or which is a sonic act of escapism for the listener.
But in bands such as Gentle Glow, we can see a whole new ethic at work, and perhaps an essential instigator of a new, more purposeful path for pop, for want of a better word, music.
If musically, they still tick a lot of boxes for the modern-day pop picker and appeal to fans’ existing comfort zones – a deft balancing act between gentle, dance floor grooves and neo-soul balladry, skittering beats, and soaring vocals – it is the sentiment that this sonic platform carries which is the real charm here.
Empowerment! That’s the name of the game. It is a simple message reminding whoever needs to hear it that they are capable of anything that they put their mind to. We all have dark moments when we feel overwhelmed or beaten down by what life has to throw at us, “Do iT is that reassurance that humans are remarkable and resilient creatures and self-belief is a powerful tool.
This is then a rallying cry for those who have been overcome by doubt, a soundtrack for those daunted by the path before them, and a song for success.
Pop music used to be the stuff of transience, a fleeting sonic encounter that enhanced the moment. Thanks to Gentle Glow, pop music can be a much more poised and poignant, purposeful and powerful force. Hopefully, it won’t be long before others are following the band’s lead and turning their own music into such life-affirming, possibly even life-changing, sonic salvos.
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