In 2020, it’s easy to see why musical success so often relies on versatility. With many of us consuming our music via algorithmic playlists or ‘trending’ tip-offs from social media, there’s a pressure to dip a finger in every potential audience pie: a reggaeton feature for the Latin market, a choreographed dance for TikTok, a rebellious personality for the pop-punkers (but not so rebellious that it is deemed problematic within the mainstream). To be all things to all people is exhausting, and numerous pop stars have lost their USP as a result of attempting to embody too many identities.
Jean Dawson is not the first artist to experiment with genre, but his ability to blend comes more naturally than most. Raised on the border between Mexico and the US, Dawson is an artist who realised early on that there is very little fun to be had from jumping between boxes. Amping up the strongest ideas from his expansive 2019 debut ‘Bad Sports’, ‘Pixel Bath’ is the sound of an artist who’s learned how to seed the best results from his musical database while never stopping long enough to be pigeonholed.