The Song Planner

Experimental Rock

tagStarted 1968Peak 1990-2014Last big hit still active

Located in 1 route

Rock → Experimental / Noise / Post-Rock

Rock that treats its own form as raw material: odd tunings, extreme dynamics, unconventional song structures, found sound, and instruments pushed past intended use. Ranges from menacing low-end drone-pummel to fractured psychedelia. Less about a fixed sound than a restless refusal of the verse-chorus contract while keeping guitar, bass and drums at the core.

History

Descends from the Velvet Underground and late-60s avant rock. Swans (formed NYC 1982) and Sonic Youth pushed it through the 80s downtown scene; the Flaming Lips and Boredoms expanded it in the 90s. Swans' 2012 The Seer and Sonic Youth's body of work made it a durable critical category distinct from prog or psych.

Defining artists

Essential listening

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Sources

  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Experimental_rock
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Seer_(Swans_album)
  • https://www.allmusic.com/style/experimental-rock-ma0000012260
  • https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/17009-the-seer/