A former boyband member making a solo rock album is not a surprising concept. From Charlie Simpson of Busted going indie with Fightstar, to Harry Styles channelling David Bowie on his first single, a guitar is a common shortcut to credibility for those suffering from a shortage of the stuff.
But as with everything involving Kevin Abstract and his former group Brockhampton, it’s a bit more complicated than that. The diverse LA rap collective, who notoriously formed on a Kanye West fan forum and included a web designer and a photographer among their members, always seemed to be using the “boyband” term to subvert it rather than because their music had much in common with production line pop, and tired of it well before the media did.
