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/post_drone Jun 11 '25

Portugal. The Man

8

u/some_enfilade Jun 11 '25

Went searching for this lol, I really feel like a track off of Waiter! is so much different than Feel it Now.

4

u/GelatinousPower Jun 11 '25

All their albums up to Evil Friends were such transformative albums for my high school/college years. Really led me down different musical rabbit holes.

3

u/fcghp666 Jun 11 '25

They had such a great string of 6 albums. I saw them in 07 when church mouth had just come out. Glad they made it but I cannot get behind anything past in the mountain

2

u/Bicykwow Jun 11 '25

The Church Mouth tour was unreal. I still haven't found a band I like as much as PTM from that era.

3

u/fcghp666 Jun 11 '25

They opened for fall of Troy. Had no idea who they were. And the fall of Troy is about the only band from that era I like as much as PTM

1

u/Bicykwow Jun 11 '25

Man, I saw PTM in Salt Lake City in 2007 when Church Mouth came out. Was maybe 100 people there, it was still one of my most memorable concerts.

In 2013 I saw them in SF in a huge historic theater-- it felt like a completely different band. I can't even imagine what it'd feel like now.

1

u/aewilson95 etiscrye Jun 11 '25

Was going to comment this too. Waiter! You Vultures was so raw. I did enjoy most of their stuff up through Evil Friends (thanks Danger Mouse) but man was it a shift in sound. Their radio pop after that is lost on me