Detroit’s Armand Amos is steering it into uncharted territory with ‘Youtube Killed the Video Star’, a savvy, synth-driven odyssey through modern digital life. Merging decades of hands-on studio craftsmanship with the pulse of artificial intelligence, this release is a reflection, playfully poking at the glitches in our wired-up world.
The title may nod to pop history, but the sound is unmistakably of the now. With clear echoes of Owl City’s dreamy electronics, The Cars’ crisp new wave polish, and the club-ready bounce of David Guetta’s best, Amos manages to conjure a tongue-in-cheek aesthetic. It’s ironic, then, that so much of it was shaped in collaboration with machines.
While many songs about technology risk sounding sterile or over-engineered, ‘Youtube Killed the Video Star’ thrives in contrast. There’s a tactile warmth to the arrangements, likely the product of Amos’s years in the trenches of analogue recording. That texture collides with crisp digital flourishes, making the track feel like a handshake between eras.
In a world where everyone’s chasing virality, ‘Youtube Killed the Video Star’ dares to slow down and look at the infrastructure beneath our digital dreams. With one foot in nostalgia and the other in a server rack, Armand Amos has crafted a track that is smart without being cynical, humourous without being hollow.
