POPSCENE!
Dreampop
YOUR AT-A-GLANCE GUIDE TO SOME OF OUR FAVOURITE SUB-GENRES
WE LOSE OURSELVES IN THE HAZY SONIC TEXTURES OF DREAMPOP, THAT MOST PAINTERLY OF MUSICAL GENRES…
STEVE O 'BRIEN
Cocteau Twins (left to right: Simon Raymonde, Elizabeth Fraser, Robin Guthrie)
© Getty
What is it?
With dreampop the clue is in the word ‘dream’. This is music to immerse yourself in, to take a long warm bath in. It’s music that carries you gently from the real world to another, more abstract and ethereal place. In the case of dreampop figureheads Cocteau Twins, that place can be tranquil and balmy, with My Bloody Valentine it can be intense and threatening. There are elements of psychedelia in dreampop, but the emphasis is on sonic textures, not melodies.
It’s ambient, with pop flourishes.
Common characteristics include fuzzy guitars, breathy, multi-tracked vocals and introspective lyrics. Expect plenty of reverb and echo, too. Dreampop can be downbeat or upbeat – it can take you up or bring you down. Often at the same time.