Bulgaria – Intention by Intelligent Music Project

So in my last review, I commended a band for having a song that appealed to people of all ages.

Bulgaria’s Intelligent Music Project tries to do the same thing. The problem is that their music is geared toward boomers, while their fan-targeting social media profile is very much speaking ironic Gen Z. And the whole thing … doesn’t quite add up

Let me be clear – I do like this song. I don’t know whether I like it because it’s got plenty of the “millennial oh” sounds, or because it’s one of the earliest songs released and I’ve just heard it so many times that I’m experiencing the aural equivalent of Stockholm Syndrome.

What I *don’t* like is how aggressively hetero male the whole Intelligent Music Vibe is. Their video is centered around a kid playing a video game with a stereotypically white, thin, and pretty female protagonist. The entire band dresses like they get their fashion tips from Ron Perlman on Sons of Anarchy.

The only place women have in this universe is to sit patiently on the side, applauding their boyfriends at every single shitty dive bar gig this band plays. (And that is a real disappointment, considering that the drummer for IMP is the legendary Stoyan, who has appeared twice at Eurovision as part of a badass percussion duo with Elitsa!) In a year after a band with a female bassist won Eurovision, and in a year where mixed-gender bands like Reddi and The Rasmus tear up the floor, the whole retro bad-boy presentation of IMP makes them seem like they’re a much older and out of touch than other acts. (Please note this isn’t an age thing, but a mindset thing – Konstrakta is older than the lead singer of IMP, but seems more fresh and modern because it doesn’t feel like she’s playing into a rock n’ roll stereotype.)

Look, Intelligent Music Project is three minutes of solid, competent rock, but there’s nothing to distinguish it from the type of music I could hear at any surburban dive bar in New Jersey. Enjoy the three minutes they are on stage, but you’ll probably have forgotten their song by the time the recaps come around.