| Dream pop | |
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| Stylistic origins | |
| Cultural origins | 1980s, United Kingdom |
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Dream pop (also typeset asdreampop)[7] is a subgenre ofalternative rock[8] andneo-psychedelia[9] that emphasizes atmosphere and sonic texture as much aspop melody. Common characteristics include breathy vocals, dense productions, and effects such asreverb,echo,tremolo, andchorus. It often overlaps with the related genre ofshoegaze, and the two genre terms have at times been used interchangeably.
The genre came into prominence in the 1980s through groups associated with the UK label4AD, most prominentlyCocteau Twins,This Mortal Coil, andA.R. Kane. Subsequently, UK-based acts such asMy Bloody Valentine,Slowdive, andLush alongside US-based artistsGalaxie 500,Julee Cruise, andMazzy Star released significant albums in the style. It saw renewed popularity amongmillennial listeners following the late-2000s success of indie actBeach House.
The term dream pop is thought to relate to the "immersion" in the music experienced by the listener.[10]The AllMusic Guide to Electronica (2003) defined dream pop as "an atmospheric subgenre of alternative rock that relies on sonic textures as much as melody".[11] According toPaste, the genre emphasizes mood and sonics over lyrics, so that "chords and tracks blur seamlessly into one another so frequently that it can be difficult to even decipher when one song ended and another has begun."[12] Common characteristics are breathy vocals, the use of guitar effects, and a densely produced sound,[11] with "nebulous, distorted guitars" paired with "murmured vocals sometimes completely smudged into a wall of noise."[9] The music tends to focus ontextures rather than propulsive rock riffs.[13] Effects such asreverb andecho are ubiquitous, withtremolo andchorus also heard on recordings.[3]
Lyrics are often introspective orexistential in nature,[13] but may be difficult to hear or incomprehensible in the mix.[12] In the view of criticSimon Reynolds, dream pop "celebrates rapturous and transcendent experiences, often using druggy and mystical imagery".[9] In 1991, he suggested this escapist tendency might be a response to the cultural landscape of the UK during the 1980s: "After 12 years ofConservative government in Britain, any idealism or constructive political involvement seems futile to these alienated middle-class dropouts."[9] Similarly, according to Rachel Felder, dream pop artists often resist representations ofsocial reality in favour of ambiguous or hallucinogenic experiences.[14]
Author Nathan Wiseman-Trowse writes that the "approach to the sheer physicality of sound" integral to dream pop was "arguably pioneered in popular music by figures such asPhil Spector and (Beach Boys founder)Brian Wilson."[14] The Beach Boys recorded an early dream pop song, "All I Wanna Do", for their 1970 albumSunflower.[15][16][17] Critic Jim Allen, who cites the Beach Boys as the "godfathers" of the style, says that the song's unprecedented "cinematic dream sequence" production style marks the point "where the dream pop family tree starts to come into focus."[15] However, the Beach Boys' impact on the genre was not widely acknowledged until after the 2000s.[15]
The 1960s work ofthe Byrds would influence the "swoony harmonies" of later British dream pop groups.[9] The music ofthe Velvet Underground in the 1960s and 1970s, which experimented with repetition, tone and texture over conventional song structure, was also an important touchstone in the genre's development.[14] Their 1967 debutThe Velvet Underground & Nico incorporated what music critic Marc Beamount terms "psychedelic dream pop" in addition to a variety of other styles.[18] Elements of dream pop could also be found in Velvet Underground songs such as "Candy Says" (1969).[19]
Music journalist John Bergstrom recognisesGeorge Harrison's 1970 track "Let It Down" as a progenitor of the genre, while stating that its Spector-produced parent albumAll Things Must Pass influenced "many guitar-driven, echo-drenched bands have come around since, mixing powerful rave-ups with moody, reflective down-tempo numbers and a spiritual bent.[20]
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A.J. Ramirez ofPopMatters recognises an evolutionary line fromgothic rock to dream pop.[2] The early 1980s gothic-derived "ethereal wave" subgenre, with itseffects-laden guitar sounds and female vocals, led to the dream pop and shoegaze scenes; it was represented byCocteau Twins and labels such as4AD andProjekt Records.[21]Rolling Stone describes "modern dream pop" as originating with the early 1980s work of Cocteau Twins and their contemporaries.[22]AllMusic's Jason Ankeny credits the Cocteau Twins' "distinctly ethereal" sound and singerElizabeth Fraser's operatic, indecipherable vocals with defining their label, the UK-based 4AD.[23] According toPaste, the band crystallized their "swelling, euphoric" dream pop sound on the 1984 albumTreasure, with guitaristRobin Guthrie conjuring an array of "woozy textures from his arsenal of effects pedals."[24]
The 1984 albumIt'll End in Tears by 4AD's "dream-pop supergroup"This Mortal Coil[22] was conceived by label headIvo Watts-Russell and featured members of Cocteau Twins andDead Can Dance. The album helped "set the template for dream pop" and associated the formerly gothic-affiliated UK label with the style.[25] The album's 1983 single, theTim Buckley cover "Song to the Siren", became an influential work in the genre, and saw success in theUK Indie Chart, remaining there consistently for two years.[25] Other early acts to touch on the style includedLori and the Chameleons,Dif Juz, andthe Durutti Column.[19] According toPitchfork,Vini Reilly of the Durutti Column "embodied the cliché of the suicidal dream-pop guitarist in the mid-1980s" with his "narcotic performances" presaging later acts such asMy Bloody Valentine andGalaxie 500.[26] The Dif Juz albumExtractions (1985) would expand the dream pop sound, incorporating saxophone, shifting tonalities, and off-kilter rhythms.[27]
Film directorDavid Lynch, unable to obtain the rights to This Mortal Coil's version of "Song to the Siren" for his 1986 filmBlue Velvet, enlisted composerAngelo Badalamenti and singerJulee Cruise to record a replacement track. The result was "Mysteries of Love", described byRolling Stone as a significant development of the dream pop sound which "gave the genre itssynthy sheen".[22] The trio of Cruise, Lynch and Badalamenti later recorded the 1989 albumFloating into the Night, which further elaborated on the style and featured theTwin Peaks theme and UK top 10 single "Falling".[22]
The term "dreampop" was coined in the late 1980s by Alex Ayuli ofA.R. Kane to describe his band's eclectic sound, which blended effects-laden guitar withdub production anddrum machine backing, among other elements.[28] The group released their 1987 EPLollita on 4AD, with production by Cocteau Twins guitarist Robin Guthrie.[29]Pitchfork describes their debut albumSixty Nine (1988) as a "crucial document" of the dream pop movement, commenting that the group "aimed to emulate an ethereality that could just as easily become nightmarish", resulting in music that feels "just out of reach."[30] Their "dreampop" label was subsequently adopted by music criticSimon Reynolds to describe that group[31] and later extended to the nascentshoegazing scene in the UK.[9] Reynolds describes the movement as "a wave of hazyneo-psychedelic groups" characterised by a "blurry, blissful sound", and credits the influence of the "ethereal soundscapes" of Cocteau Twins as well as more distorted styles of Americanalternative rock.[9]
In the 1990s, "dream pop" and "shoegazing" were interchangeable and regionally dependent terms, with "dream pop" being the name by which "shoegazing" was typically known in America.[32] AllMusic describes the dream pop label as covering both the "loud, shimmering feedback" ofMy Bloody Valentine and the "post-Velvet Underground guitar rock" ofGalaxie 500.[33] My Bloody Valentine showcased a unique dream pop sound on their 1988 debut albumIsn't Anything, with guitaristKevin Shields employing atremolo-arm technique in order to produce "an amorphous drone, at once visceral and disembodied".[9] Galaxie 500 provided a "cornerstone" of the genre in their 1989 albumOn Fire, with their downtempo,reverb-laden sound becoming influential.[12] UK bands acts as A.R. Kane, My Bloody Valentine andRide played an influential role in the development of the movement.[34] Other prominent acts to emerge from the movement includeSlowdive andChapterhouse.[9]
The 1990 Cocteau Twins albumHeaven or Las Vegas proved an iconic release in the genre.[25]Spin credited My Bloody Valentine's "landmark" 1991 albumLoveless with "crystalizing (and obliterating) the genres of dream pop and shoegaze guitar rock."[35] The UK bandLush became an influential act in the genre during the 1990s, with Robin Guthrie producing their 1992 debut albumSpooky.[34] The 1993 albumSo Tonight That I Might See by American bandMazzy Star reflected a dream pop sound specific to "the glitzy decay that is L.A.", according toPitchfork; that publication called the album a "dream pop classic".[36] The late 1980s dream pop of A.R. Kane and My Bloody Valentine influenced 1990s acts such asSeefeel andInsides,[37] who began incorporating elements such assamples andsequenced rhythms.[38]Ambient pop music is described by AllMusic as "essentially an extension of the dream pop that emerged in the wake of the shoegazer movement", distinct for its incorporation of electronic textures and techniques such assampling.[6]Bowery Electric's 1996 albumBeat was described byLong Live Vinyl as an important touchstone of both dream pop andtrip hop.[27]
The 2007 albumPerson Pitch byPanda Bear combined Beach Boys-influenced dream pop with modernsampledelic techniques, winning acclaim and exerting a wide influence.[39]Much of the music associated with the 2009-coined term "chillwave" could be considered dream pop.[7][nb 1] The 2010 albumTeen Dream by Baltimore duoBeach House established the group as purveyors of modern dream pop that drew on the "languid reveries" of Cocteau Twins, Mazzy Star and Galaxie 500.[25] The group's success in the late 2000s solidified the popularity of dream pop withmillennial listeners.[3]In 2025, a reimagined version of Shawn Mendes's song "The Mountain" was released featuring American producer and vocalist Andrew Aasen. The track incorporated ambient textures, slowed-down tempo, and electronic layering often associated with dream pop and ambient subgenres. The rework was independently released and credited to both artists.[41][42][43]
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