Developed after the Punk Rock movement by British bands in the mid-1980s, Dream Pop - somewhat synonomous with 'shoegazer' - refers to artists such as the Cocteau Twins who performed earsplitting music using radical electronic effects to create an eerie fog of guitar noise. Lyrics full of indistinct points and imagery forced the vocals into a less vital, if not subordinate, role in the texture. To this day, Dream Pop remains enormously popular and continues to show disdain for mainstream pop production. Representative Artists: My Bloody Valentine, The Verve, Ride.
2026 note
Read more: the ListenSmart article on this style.