| Post-Britpop | |
|---|---|
| Stylistic origins | |
| Cultural origins | Late 1990s, United Kingdom |
| Typical instruments | |
| Regional scenes | |
| Other topics | |
Post-Britpop is analternative rock subgenre and is the period in the late 1990s and early 2000s, followingBritpop, when the media were identifying a "new generation" or "second wave" of guitar bands influenced by acts likeOasis andBlur, but with less overt British concerns in their lyrics and making more use of American rock andindie influences, as well as experimental music.[1][2][3][4] Bands in the post-Britpop era that had been established acts, but gained greater prominence after the decline of Britpop, such asRadiohead andthe Verve, and new acts such asKeane,Snow Patrol,Stereophonics,Feeder, and particularlyTravis andColdplay, achieved much wider international success than most of the Britpop groups that had preceded them, and were some of the most commercially successful acts of the late 1990s and early 2000s.
Many bands in the post-Britpop era avoided the Britpop label while still producing music derived from it.[1][6] The music of most bands was guitar-based,[7][8] often mixing elements of British traditional rock,[9] particularlythe Beatles,the Rolling Stones and theSmall Faces, with American influences.[3] Bands from the era utilized specific elements from 1970s British rock and pop music.[7] Drawn from across the United Kingdom, the themes of their music tended to be less parochially centred on British, English and London life, and more introspective than had been the case with Britpop at its height.[7][10][11][12] This, beside a greater willingness to woo the American press and fans, may have helped a number of them in achieving international success.[2] They have been seen as presenting the image of the rock star as an ordinary person, or "boy-next-door"[8] and their increasingly melodic music was criticised for being bland or derivative.[13]
From about 1997, as dissatisfaction grew with the concept ofCool Britannia andBritpop as a movement began to dissolve, emerging bands began to avoid the Britpop label while still producing music derived from it.[1][6] Bands that had enjoyed some success during the mid-1990s, but did not find major commercial success until the late 1990s includedthe Verve andRadiohead. After the decline of Britpop they began to gain more critical and popular attention.[1] The Verve's albumUrban Hymns (1997) was a worldwide hit and their commercial peak before they broke up in 1999, while Radiohead – although having achieved moderate recognition withThe Bends in 1995 – achieved near-universal critical acclaim with their experimental albumsOK Computer (1997),Kid A (2000), andAmnesiac (2001).[14]
The cultural and musical scene in Scotland, dubbed "Cool Caledonia" by some elements of the press,[15] produced a number of successful alternative acts, includingthe Supernaturals from Glasgow, whose re-released single "Smile" (1997) reached number 25 in the UK charts, and whose albumIt Doesn't Matter Anymore (1997) entered the top ten, but who failed to sustain their success or achieve the anticipated international breakthrough.[16]Travis, also from Glasgow, were one of the first major rock bands to emerge in the post-Britpop era.[1] Using the hooks and guitar rock favoured by Oasis in a song-based format, they moved from the personal onGood Feeling (1997), through the general on their breakthroughThe Man Who (1999), to the socially conscious and political on12 Memories (2003)[5] and have been credited with a major role in disseminating a new Britpop.[17][18] From EdinburghIdlewild, more influenced bypost-grunge, just failed to break into the British top 50 with their second albumHope Is Important (1998), but subsequently produced three top-twenty albums, peaking withThe Remote Part (2002), and the single "You Held the World in Your Arms", reaching numbers 3 and 9 in the respective UK charts. Although garnering some international attention, they did not break through in the US.[19]
The first major band to break through from the post-Britpop Welsh rock scene, dubbed "Cool Cymru",[15] wereCatatonia, whose single "Mulder and Scully" (1998) reached the top ten in the UK, and whose albumInternational Velvet (1998) reached number one, but they were unable to make much impact in the US and, after personal problems, broke up at the end of the century.[4][20]Stereophonics, also from Wales, used elements of a post-grunge and hardcore on their breakthrough albumsWord Gets Around (1997) andPerformance and Cocktails (1999), before moving into more melodic territory withJust Enough Education to Perform (2001) and subsequent albums.[21][22] Also from Wales wereFeeder, who were initially more influenced by American post-grunge, producing a hard rock sound that led to their breakthrough single "Buck Rogers" and the albumEcho Park (2001).[23] After the death of their drummerJon Lee, they moved to a more reflective and introspective mode onComfort in Sound (2002), their most commercially successful album to that point, which spawned a series of hit singles.[24]
There was also a number of British bands getting more 'progressive' in their music style. Radiohead releasedOK Computer in May 1997,[25][26][27] a few months before Oasis releasedBe Here Now (known as 'the album that killed Britpop' in some parts of the press),[28][29][30][31][32] with Radiohead's album being followed by Mansun'sSix album the next year (released on Parlophone at the time, but now available on progressive rock labelKscope).[33][34][35] At the end of the 1990s, Devon bandMuse would emerge from Teignmouth and sign to (Australian record company) Mushroom Records' new British arm via independent company Taste Media. Initially dismissed in certain sections of the press as 'Radiohead wannabes',[36][37] the band would go on to top the UK albums chart seven times, with every studio album reaching the top from 2003 to 2022.[38]
These acts were followed by a number of bands who shared aspects of their music, includingSnow Patrol from Northern Ireland, andAthlete,Elbow,Embrace,Starsailor,Doves,Toploader,Gomez, andKeane from England.[1][40][41] The most commercially successful band in the millennium wereColdplay, whose first two albumsParachutes (2000) andA Rush of Blood to the Head (2002) wentmulti-platinum, establishing them as one of the most popular acts in the world by the time of their third albumX&Y (2005).[39][42] Snow Patrol's "Chasing Cars" (from their 2006 albumEyes Open) is the most widely played song of the 21st century on UK radio.[43]
Post-Britpop bands like Coldplay, Starsailor and Elbow, with introspective lyrics and even tempos, began to be criticised at the beginning of the new millennium as bland and sterile.[44] A wave ofgarage rock revival/post-punk revival bands sprang up in response, likethe Strokes andthe White Stripes in the US,the Hives in Sweden,the Vines in Australia, and the UK's ownKaiser Chiefs,Arctic Monkeys andBloc Party.[2][45] These bands have been seen as looking less to music of the 1960s and more to 1970s punk and post-punk, while still being influenced by Britpop,[45] and were welcomed by some in musical press as "the saviours of rock and roll".[46] Despite this, a number of post-Britpop groups, particularly Travis, Stereophonics and Coldplay, continued to record and enjoy commercial success into the late 2000s.[22][39][47]
Bands in the post-Britpop era have been credited with revitalising the British rock music scene in the late 1990s and 2000s,[45] and of reaping the commercial benefits opened up by Britpop.[2] They have also been criticised for providing a "homogenised and conformist" version of Britpop that serves as music for TV soundtracks,[1] shopping malls, bars and nightclubs.[2]
