Noise pop

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Noise pop
Stylistic origins Alternative rock, power pop, noise rock, pop rock
Cultural origins Mid-1980s, United Kingdom and United States
Typical instruments Vocals, electric guitar, bass, drums, keyboards, synthesizer
Derivative forms Shoegazing
Local scenes
Other topics

Noise pop is a subgenre of alternative rock developed in the mid-1980s in the UK and US that mixes dissonant noise or feedback, or both, with the melodic instrumentation and production elements more often found in pop music, making it more melodic than noise rock.[2]


Noise pop has been described as "the halfway point between bubblegum and the avant-garde".[2] It combines conventional pop song writing with white noise, distorted guitars and drones. The Velvet Underground were a major influence on the genre, with their experiments with feedback and distortion on their early albums.[2] Early American alternative rock bands like Sonic Youth and Dinosaur Jr., who mixed rock song structures with guitar distortion, were immediate forerunners.[1] The Jesus and Mary Chain's 1985 debut, Psychocandy, was considered as the archetype for noise pop genre. Kareem Estefan of Stylus Magazine characterized 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] Other major bands include Yo La Tengo. Later in '80s noise pop was the major inspiration for the British shoegazing movement. Noise pop continued to be influential in the indie rock scene into the 1990s.[2]

See also[edit]


  1. ^ a b Scaruffi (2003), p.343-344
  2. ^ a b c d e "Noise Pop: Significant Albums, Artists and Songs, Most Viewed: AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 17 July 2012. 
  3. ^ Estefan, Kareem (September 1, 2003). "Jesus and Mary Chain - 21 Singles". Stylus Magazine. Retrieved September 25, 2013. 


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