Cute rock after 2019
What to keep from the first wave, and what should have been thrown out long ago. A genre doesn’t have to wear the same jacket its whole life.
The surest way to kill a genre is to declare one brief period its only correct form.
What to keep
Closeness. The song talks to a person, not an imaginary stadium.
Melody. A hook is still stronger than a concept.
Contrast. Cute next to loud, funny next to painful.
Everyday drama. A specific trigger is stronger than a universal statement.
What to throw out
There’s no need for a single hairstyle, age, or outfit.
The genre can handle shoegaze, garage rock, metal, and pure pop.
A slow song has a right to exist too.
2019 doesn’t have to show up in every new song.
What to add
Rougher-sounding bands. Weird electronic music. Male voices. Adult protagonists. Songs about more than romance. Regional scenes. A visual language of its own for every project.
The more people can use the words “cute rock” without sounding the same, the stronger the genre.
A legacy survives when the next song is needed too.
The future test
Imagine a new song without references to the previous wave. Is it still interesting? If so, the genre is moving. If the only pleasure is that it’s “just like back then,” that’s fan service, not a ten-year strategy.
2019 is the starting point of the modern Russian idea of cute rock, not a technical brief.