Noise pop

Noise pop is a subgenre of alternative or indie rock that developed in the mid-1980s in the United Kingdom and United States. It is defined by its mixture of dissonant noise or feedback with the songcraft more often found in pop music.[1] Shoegazing, another noise-based genre that developed in the 1980s, drew from noise pop.

Noise pop
Stylistic origins
Cultural originsMid-1980s, United Kingdom and United States
Typical instruments
Derivative forms
Other topics

History and characteristics

Noise pop has been described by AllMusic as "the halfway point between bubblegum and the avant-garde"; the combination of conventional pop songwriting with experimental sounds of white noise, distorted guitars and drones. Accordingly, the style "often has a hazy, narcotic feel, as melodies drift through the swirling guitar textures. But it can also be bright and lively, or angular and challenging."[1] AllMusic cites the Velvet Underground as the earliest roots of the genre, with their experiments with feedback and distortion on their early albums.[1]

Early American alternative rock bands like Sonic Youth, Yo La Tengo and Dinosaur Jr., who mixed pop song structures with extreme guitar distortion and feedback, were immediate forerunners. The Jesus and Mary Chain's 1985 debut, Psychocandy, is considered by AllMusic to be the archetype for the noise pop genre ("pretty much birthed the style").[1] Kareem Estefan of Stylus Magazine cited the album for "transforming the use of distortion in indie rock with its screeching abrasion, yet managing to feature some of the catchiest melodies of the 80s."[2]

Later in the 1980s, noise pop was a major inspiration for the British shoegazing movement.[1] Influenced by The Jesus and Mary Chain, My Bloody Valentine started to experiment with a fusion of 1960s pop music and noise on their EP, The New Record by My Bloody Valentine, paving way to their forthcoming shoegazing sound.[3] Noise pop continued to be influential in the indie rock scene into the 1990s.[1]

In the 90s and 2000s, popular Neo-psychedelia bands such as The Flaming Lips and later Animal Collective were big proponents of incorporating noise pop within their sound, especially Avey Tare and Panda Bear (musician)'s acclaimed album Spirit They're Gone, Spirit They've Vanished.[4]

See also

References
  1. "Noise Pop: Significant Albums, Artists and Songs, Most Viewed: AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 17 July 2012.
  2. Estefan, Kareem (1 September 2003). "Jesus and Mary Chain - 21 Singles". Stylus Magazine. Retrieved 25 September 2013.
  3. Abebe, Nitsuh. "My Bloody Valentine - The New Record by My Bloody Valentine". Allmusic. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
  4. "Animal Collective: Spirit They're Gone, Spirit They've Vanished". Pitchfork. Retrieved 13 March 2020.


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