Jangle Pop
tagStarted 1980Peak 1983-1989Last big hit still active
Located in 2 routes
The canonical chiming-guitar pop: clean, compressed Rickenbacker arpeggios over 1960s-style melodies, tight two- to three-minute song forms, ringing major chords, and bittersweet vocal hooks. Treble-bright and undistorted, with light reverb and a melancholy sweetness. The literate, college-radio backbone of '80s American indie.
History
Coalescing around early R.E.M., the dB's, and the Smiths around 1980-83, jangle pop translated the Byrds' '60s chime into the post-punk era. The term itself emerged to describe these bands' shimmering guitars. It became the defining sound of '80s college radio and IRS-era American indie before scattering into alternative rock.
Defining artists
Essential listening
Sources
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jangle_pop
- https://www.allmusic.com/style/jangle-pop-ma0000004436
- https://www.masterclass.com/articles/jangle-pop-music-guide
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R.E.M.