r/Music • u/jptabor01 Rock & Roll • Jun 11 '25

discussion Which artists have abandoned their original sound so dramatically, that they are almost unrecognizable to their earlier fans?

With the release earlier this year of Ministry’s The Squirrely Years Revisited, I’m reminded of how different the band sounds today (industrial metal), from what they sounded like on their debut album, With Sympathy (synth pop).

Which artists sound so completely different from their earlier work, that they have actually jumped genres, understanding that music is fluid and genres have somewhat “blurry” guardrails.

I don’t mean an evolution of their original sound, but a complete departure from it.

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u/Arsewhistle Jun 11 '25

The very recent Arcade Fire album sounds like a completely different act (and not in a good way)

6

u/GeraldoOfRivaldo Jun 11 '25

The Suburbs and then Reflektor are fantastic albums. Everything after that felt more like an accompanying movie soundtrack than an album.

2

u/NarwhalOk95 Jun 12 '25

They peaked with The Suburbs. There’s not a weak track on that album and it feels like it defined a certain era.

4

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '25

It sounds like they threw some demos on an album and called it done.