As the first entry of this new Music Revisited series, there comes some pressure to select an artist that embodies what’s to come. In Music Revisted, artists will be spotlighted that can be considered to be ahead of their time, music that withstands the trends of an era, or those who just deserve recognition for their musical accomplishments or endeavors.
With that being said, our first artist worth spotlighting is the electropop/synthpop duo known as Dumblonde. For those of you unfamiliar with Dumblonde, the duo consists of Aubrey O’Day and Shannon Bex, former (with Aubrey still being active) members of Danity Kane – a multi- R&B group that thrived in the expansion of the reality tv era. Out of the ashes of Danity Kane rose Dumblonde, with O’Day and Bex both creating their own lane that separated their sound from DK.
The pair birthed Dumblonde in 2015, launching their debut self-titled album independently after striving to create music without the push and pull of labels desires. The Dumblonde album reached No. 1 on the Billboard U.S Heatseekers Chart, proving that even without the aid of mainstream radio and marketing, they could create a ripple in the industry. In another business-savy manner, Dumblonde launched videos for several songs, giving it a visual layer on top of the already thrilling electronic-charged bangers.
Dumblonde released a follow-up sophomore album four years later with the 2019 album Bianca that dabbled in a retro-funk sound that is heavily seen in many of today’s Top 40 hits like Doja Cat’s “Say So” or Dua Lipa’s sophomore album Future Nostalgia. Though Dumblonde’s second album didn’t find the commercial appreciation it deserved, the album was laced with multiple single-worthy records like “found” and “I” being radio-friendly tracks that are on par with today’s hits.
It’s been a little over a year since Dumblonde released music, however, they have since reunited with former DK member Dawn for a single and Dawn and Aubrey also created tracks under the DK title like “New Kings”. It is unknown if we’ll be seeing more Dumblonde in the future, but regardless they have shown their versatility as artists and that regardless of the politics in the industry, a real artist can create beautiful work if the passion is present.
Best Tracks:
- Remember Me – The somber island-jam by the duo is an easy standout on an album heavily rooted in electronic dance music.
- Waiting On You – Between the production and video, the 80’s synthpop song brings a fun energy to a topic of naivety and false love.
- Yellow Canary – With simplicity in the lyrics, a hard-hitting beat, and a dance break, this is some of the duo’s most underrated work.
- Found – Dumblonde proves they’ve mastered the strengths of disco pop and it deserves a spot on your playlist.
- I – More disco pop euphoria with an catchy chorus.
