Dream pop is a subgenre of alternative rock and neo-psychedelia that puts atmosphere and sonic texture first: washes of reverb, layered guitars and soft, often half-buried vocals. The name comes from the British duo A.R. Kane in the late 1980s, and the sound is most closely tied to the 4AD label and Cocteau Twins.
Origin
The Word: A.R. Kane, Late 1980s
A.R. Kane was formed in 1986 by Alex Ayuli and Rudy Tambala. According to Wikipedia’s dream pop entry, “dreampop” was coined by Ayuli to describe the duo’s sound in the late 1980s, and critic Simon Reynolds subsequently adopted the label to describe the group. A.R. Kane signed to 4AD for the 1987 EP Lollita, and that year was part of the one-off collaboration M/A/R/R/S, whose “Pump Up the Volume” reached number 1 on the UK Singles Chart in September 1987. Their debut album, 69, came out in 1988 on Rough Trade Records.
The Sound: 4AD and Cocteau Twins
The style itself predates the word. Dream pop came into prominence in the 1980s through groups associated with the UK label 4AD, most prominently Cocteau Twins and This Mortal Coil. Cocteau Twins’ Treasure was released by 4AD on 12 November 1984, and Heaven or Las Vegas followed on 17 September 1990.
The Revival
By the late 2000s the sound found renewed popularity among millennial listeners through bands such as Beach House, whose Sub Pop albums Teen Dream (2010) and Bloom (2012) carried it to a new audience. Home-recorded descendants of the style are covered under #BedroomPop.
How the Term Is Used
Today “dream pop” is used loosely for any reverb-heavy, hazy indie record, and it is frequently swapped with “shoegaze.” Wikipedia’s dream pop entry notes that, although the two are distinct, both terms have sometimes been used interchangeably. The table below separates them.
Essential Records
A starting list of albums whose Wikipedia entries tie them to dream pop or to the 4AD sound that defined it.
| Year | Artist | Album | Label | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | Cocteau Twins | Treasure | 4AD | Third album by the band most associated with the genre |
| 1988 | A.R. Kane | 69 | Rough Trade | Debut album by the duo who named the style |
| 1989 | Julee Cruise | Floating into the Night | Warner Bros. | Produced by Angelo Badalamenti and David Lynch; charted after Twin Peaks aired in 1990 |
| 1990 | Cocteau Twins | Heaven or Las Vegas | 4AD | The band’s sixth studio album |
| 1993 | Mazzy Star | So Tonight That I Might See | Capitol | Includes “Fade into You,” the band’s only Billboard Hot 100 single (peak No. 44) |
| 2010 | Beach House | Teen Dream | Sub Pop | Released January 26, 2010; described by publications as dream pop |
| 2012 | Beach House | Bloom | Sub Pop | Released May 15, 2012 |
Dream Pop vs Shoegaze
Wikipedia’s shoegaze entry states that the two are distinct, quoting Dean Wareham that shoegaze bands are “more of an assault, a wall of sound.”
| Dream pop | Shoegaze | |
|---|---|---|
| Term in use | Late 1980s (A.R. Kane) | 1991 (earliest confirmed print use in NME, May 1991) |
| Emphasis | Atmosphere and texture, soft vocals | Ethereal guitar noise, obscured vocals |
| Defining scene | 4AD: Cocteau Twins, This Mortal Coil | Ride, Swervedriver, Slowdive, Chapterhouse, Lush, Moose |
| Landmark record | Heaven or Las Vegas (1990) | My Bloody Valentine, Loveless (4 November 1991) |
My Bloody Valentine and Slowdive are often listed as dream pop pioneers, but both belong to shoegaze first: Loveless marked the genre’s 1991 peak, and Slowdive’s Souvlaki was released on 1 June 1993 through Creation Records. For the newer guitar-noise wave, see #ShoegazeRevival.
Sources
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dream_pop
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A.R._Kane
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shoegaze
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treasure_(Cocteau_Twins_album)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/69_(album)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Floating_into_the_Night
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heaven_or_Las_Vegas
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/So_Tonight_That_I_Might_See
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teen_Dream
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloom_(Beach_House_album)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loveless_(album)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Souvlaki_(album)