Home | Music Genre | Dream pop
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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. |