What do you think when you think of the band Blondie? Probably one of their hits from the 80’s, right? Well when I think Blondie I don’t think Call Me or Heart of Glass, I think Pollinator. So far it’s their last studio album, releasing 41 years after their first! It’s incredible that this groups music not only lasts through time, but continues to innovate through the 90s and into the 2010’s. I think I first heard this album through a Spotify discover weekly, but just the track Long Time. It holds a lot of nostalgia as that mid-late 2010’s pop song, like Liz Cooper and the Stampede or MGMT. I knew Blondie was a thing, but I couldn’t link the two in my mind, too stylistically different.
Of course, that was 7 long years ago when dinosaurs roamed the earth, and now in the year 2024 I can pretty easily tell that this is a Blondie album. Listening to the rest of the tracks it feels like 80’s synth wave and disco mixed with modern sounds, honestly the best thing I can compare it to is the Orion Experiences Cosmicandy, it’s a very similar sound. It really sounds like the group Blondie aged 30 years and came back to music, equipped with old world style and new world tech, and for me it really works.
Pollinator is more blondie, simple as that. If you like Blondie then you’ll adore Pollinator. If not, maybe give some of its A-sides a try, see how you like it.
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