| Dream pop | |
|---|---|
| Stylistic origins | Post-punk, psychedelic rock, ethereal wave, ambient music, space rock, pop |
| Cultural origins | Mid-1980s, Scotland, England |
| Typical instruments | Guitar, bass, drums, vocals, synthesizers |
| Mainstream popularity | Low, with limited success |
| Derivative forms | Shoegazing, ambient pop |
| Other topics | |
| Notable artists | |
Dream pop is a subgenre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom in the mid-1980s, when bands like The Passions, Dif Juz, Lowlife and A.R. Kane (to whom the term has been attributed) began fusing post-punk and ethereal experiments with bittersweet pop melodies into dreamy, sensual soundscapes. The term was almost exclusively used in the United States. An "all-star" dream pop collective named This Mortal Coil were known for covering obscure songs mainly from the 1960s and 1970s.
The essence of the music is a focus on ethereal textures and moods, rather than on propulsive rock riffs. Breathy, high-register female vocals or almost whispered male vocals are usually the means of lyrical delivery; lyrics are generally introspective and existential in nature. Cover art tends to consist of blurry pastel imagery or stark minimalist designs, or a combination of these two styles. Overall, the 4AD record label is the one most associated with dream pop, though others such as Creation, Projekt, Fontana, Bedazzled, Vernon Yard and Slumberland also released significant records in the genre.
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Early songs that influenced the dream pop genre include "Sunday Morning" by The Velvet Underground and "#9 Dream" by John Lennon, which both contained many elements of dream pop such as breathy vocals and atmospheric soundscapes. Other artists that have been identified as influences on the genre include the Cocteau Twins, This Mortal Coil, Sonic Youth, Hüsker Dü, Spacemen 3, The Chameleons, The Cure, Bauhaus, Galaxie 500 and Spiritualized.
From the 1980s to early 1990s, bands such as Pale Saints, Spoonfed Hybrid, Spirea X, early-period Seefeel, early-period The Verve, Kitchens of Distinction, The Church, The Sundays, Belly, The Flaming Lips, The Ocean Blue, Bel Canto, Hum, Cranes, Frazier Chorus, Strange Boutique, Curve, The Dream Academy and No-Man were representatives of the genre.
Concurrently, a number of more predominantly guitar-driven dream pop bands emerged in the United States, including Sentinel, For Against, Alison's Halo, BOBBY,[1] Low, Mazzy Star, Velour 100, Fine China, Love Spirals Downwards, Ars Poetica, Duster, Warm Ghost,[2] Azure Ray and Frownland. In Europe, some dream pop bands emerged, mixing more folk or electronic components, such as The Legendary Pink Dots and Hooverphonic.
A louder, more aggressive strain of dream pop came to be known as shoegazing; key bands of this style were Lush, Slowdive, My Bloody Valentine, Starflyer 59, Chapterhouse, Catherine Wheel, Ride and Levitation. These bands kept the atmospheric qualities of dream pop, but added the intensity of post-punk-influenced bands such as The Chameleons and Sonic Youth. Shoegazing arose out of a love for dream pop's textures and moods, at the same time rejecting its more passive tendencies. [3]
In the 1990s and early 2000s, bands like Sigur Rós, M83, Mercury Rev, ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead, Dubstar, Laika, Asobi Seksu, Broken Social Scene, Readymade, Bethany Curve, Halou, Windy & Carl, Trespassers William, Southpacific, Amusement Parks on Fire, Mira, Yume Bitsu, Devics, Xinlisupreme, Mew, Air Formation, Psychic Ills, Charlene, Auburn Lull, and (in their more recent years) Blonde Redhead have had the dream pop label attached to them. Groups like these are sometimes (dismissively) called nu-gaze bands. The genre terms "ambient pop" and post-rock have been applied to some of these artists as well.
Dream pop is often credited with providing the creative "anti-rock" catalyst for textural-based musical styles such as trip hop, slowcore, and post-rock.
A resurgence of dream pop in the independent music scene occurred in 2008, with the relatively successful indie acts of Silversun Pickups, Beach House, Tame Impala, Deerhunter, Animal Collective, Panda Bear, Bat for Lashes, High Places, Lykke Li, Chairlift, Anomie Belle, School of Seven Bells, The xx, Letting Up Despite Great Faults, Marissa Nadler, Holly Miranda, iamamiwhoami, and Wild Beasts. Many of these bands were heavily plugged by the Pitchfork Media website.
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