Sometimes, the exact thing that audiences need is the thing they least expect. In an era of over-produced, mass-marketed pop hits primed and segmented into thirty-second clips for social media consumption, it finally feels like the pop genre is back at a familiar breaking point. There’s always going to be pop music because in its very nature pop music is a label that bends to whatever the mainstream champions at any given time, but a bubble can still always burst — thankfully, indie artists are there to offer counter-programming at the drop of a hat and singer-songwriters like Druv Kent are able to conjure pop tracks without conforming to the big trends of TikTok and Instagram. It’s impressive, and if things are just in the world, these indie artists are the blueprint for the future of musical trends.
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Druv Kent’s latest EP, Love in F#, is a perfect bite-sized encapsulation of everything I love about modern indie pop. There are flourishes of world music at each song’s core, and on top of that Kent is able to conjure five distinct, catchy tracks that all feel intertwined and yet drastically different from one another. There’s an old-fashioned songwriting approach to the song’s melody, leading with a guitar before anything else joins the mix, but this retro style is one of the many things Kent has in his artistic portfolio that puts him a head above the rest. It’s immediately clear from the song’s first seconds that he is an artist with a focus on crafting unique and catchy melodies more than pushing sales and hitting demographics and targets.
“Million Ways” complements its old-fashioned songwriting approach with a music video that got its origin in a similar way — filmed with a rustic, film aesthetic, the music video feels akin to home videos taken of a variety of loving couples on dates and spending time together. There’s plenty of footage of Kent performing the song, too, and his comfort on camera feels just as cool and confident as his overall presence on the song itself. The music video is a fantastic companion piece to the single, and it adds a layer of context to the song’s lyrics that give the track that extra ounce of power. As far as love songs, go, Kent has a phenomenal one on his hands!
While “Million Ways” doesn’t play into the modern trends of current pop music, it carries itself with a presence few indie acts could hope to have in their own work; there are no self-conscious thoughts to be had, just a fully proud and joyful song about love and the way we all have an effect on each other — it’s refreshing in the best ways, and almost entirely not meant for social media trends, which makes it even better. “Million Ways” and the rest of the Love in F# EP are streaming now, with music video accompaniments at Druv Kent’s YouTube page and on all streaming services. Give yourself a little bit of love, and remember the “Million Ways” to love Druv Kent’s latest single!
Chadwick Easton
The music of Druv Kent has been heard all over the world in partnership with the radio plugging services offered by Musik and Film Radio Promotions Division. Learn more https://musikandfilm.com