Noise pop

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Noise pop is a subgenre of alternative and indie rock that emerged in the mid-1980s in the United Kingdom, originally pioneered by the Jesus and Mary Chain on their debut album Psychocandy . Elements of the style were also present in some bands associated with the British C86 movement. Noise pop later influenced the development of shoegaze.

Contents

Characteristics

Noise pop is characterized by a mixture of dissonant, abrasive noise and guitar feedback combined with pop-oriented songwriting. AllMusic describes the style as occupying "the halfway point between bubblegum and the avant-garde". Accordingly, noise pop "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]

History

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 such as Sonic Youth, Yo La Tengo, Hüsker Dü, Dinosaur Jr., and the Replacements, mixed pop song structures with extreme guitar distortion and feedback. [2]

Scottish band the Jesus and Mary Chain's 1985 debut, Psychocandy , is considered to be the earliest archetype for the noise pop genre, the band drew influence from the Velvet Underground, with their releases inspiring later prominent noise pop acts such as Meat Whiplash and The Flaming Lips. [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." [3] Many early noise pop artists were associated with the British C86 movement. [4]

Legacy

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. [5] Noise pop continued to be influential in the indie rock scene into the 1990s. [1] [6]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Noise Pop Music Genre Overview". AllMusic . Retrieved 17 July 2012.
  2. ↑ The Mix: 100 Essential Noise Pop Songs : NPR
  3. ↑ Estefan, Kareem (1 September 2003). "Jesus and Mary Chain - 21 Singles". Stylus Magazine. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 25 September 2013.
  4. ↑ Heller, Jason. "Various Artists: C86". Pitchfork. Retrieved 19 September 2025.
  5. ↑ Abebe, Nitsuh. "My Bloody Valentine - The New Record by My Bloody Valentine". AllMusic . Retrieved 24 March 2015.
  6. ↑ Covach, John; Flory, Andrew (1 July 2022). What's That Sound?: An Introduction to Rock and Its History. W. W. Norton & Company. p. 489. Drawing on the 1980s legacy of groups like Sonic Youth, experiments with noise were by no means confined to Yo La Tengo and My Bloody Valentine, and were central to the work of many indie groups during the 1990s.
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