The pastiche of vaporwave and the dozens of spinoff genres that followed illustrates just how quickly the internet will devour musical identities in their entirety. Slowed down samples and retro aesthetics were recycled ad nauseam. However, there exists artists who have disrupted the status quo enough over the past decade that the movement has produced some breathtaking artists. George Clanton aims to be one of those artists. The scope and vision of his newest single “Dumb” reveals just how the formula of vaporwave can be tweaked. Waves of robotic guitar effects churn in the very opening before the vocals emerge, full of a somewhat restrained passion. The outcome is strikingly familiar; it’s reminiscent of Sonic Youth and My Bloody Valentine in how the wall of noise is bluntly beautiful, but the interpretation is entirely its own, full of digitized static and instantaneous crescendos that were ubiquitous in vaporwave’s early days. Utilizing a genre’s ideas in surprising ways is not always easy or successful, yet Clanton’s growth as an artist can be pinned on his aspiration to reshape how listeners hear a sound they may already be familiar with. “Dumb” is the apparent first single off a new album, according to his SoundCloud, and if the rest of his new material is this ambitious, it will be a must listen for 2018. You can stream the single below and catch Clanton perform live at Elsewhere on August 18. – Tucker Pennington
