Album Review/ Electro Pop : Barbonus’s ‘Habit’

Barbonus is a songwriter and music composer who builds soundscapes as if the craft is his life source. That kind of surrender to art invariably leads to a remarkable piece of art. His latest album, ‘Habit’ is exactly that. An indie album that blends pop and synths to create a smooth electro pop highway.

The smoothness of the production and the dreamy dazes that the artist leans into is reminiscent of the 80s. Think tracks like Desire and Chromatics. It’s a dream wave with a freshness that brings it to the modern times. 

‘No Agreement’ opens the album. Its crisp yet curving soundscape, the mood and emotion, all of it sets the stage for the test of the album. Dance moments are softened by contemplative melancholy. Tracks like ‘Silence’, ‘Roadside’ and ‘From Midnight till Dawn’ work with this same duality. However, the artist compels a thematic nuance out of these soundscapes. And a few moments of it are reminiscent of the 2016 electro pop wave. It’s pleasing and builds into a landscape that you’re both watching and listening to. With a drift in the rhythm, it is quite perfect for road trips and long drives. 

‘Africa Will’ is not a song. It is a feeling. The artist writes the song tracing the outlines of heartache. A heartache that feels consuming and compelling because it’s born out of a love for a country. It carries hope on the brink of hopelessness. Despite years of being let down. The hope bleeds with melancholy and an irrevocable love.

‘Sirens’ is made colorful, playful, light, and magical. With a dynamic rhythm, popping grooves and sparkling melodies, it gets to be so enchanting and carefree. And then somewhere along the second verse, the composition evolves into a deeper and more focused space. The energy is more stable, consistent, cyclical as if hypnotised. The progression of the song captures the experience of sirens, their charm and chaos, hyperactivity and hypnosis.

‘From Pontius to Pilate’ and ‘I Stay in Bed’ are both fun, sweeping, dynamic, light hearted, all of it running with a depth that can be affecting. There are moments of melancholy in the vocals but they are swept up by the buoyant melodies and lifting beatline. 

The album has an introspective pulse, wrapping itself around you. The themes are fleshed out with emotion, thought and so care, so much so that it carries you to its world of feeling. Listen Now!

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The album is available for streaming on popular sites like Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music, and Amazon Music!

Check out ‘Habit’ by Barbonus here -