Your way in
Dream pop 1985
The same reverb haze, but with the melody left on the surface and the tempo slower.
- Heaviness
- 2
- Speed
- 3
- Melody
- 10
- Where from
- United Kingdom
- Tempo
- 70-110 bpm
- Song length
- 4-6 min
- Written about
- Desire, Memory, Weather and light, Words used for their sound rather than their meaning
- Vocals
- Sung
Why this one
| You said | Dream pop | Match | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Light How much weight do you want behind it? | 2 out of 10 | 100% | ×2 |
| Slow. Let it take its time. What pace? | 3 out of 10 | 80% | ×2 |
| Weighted mean | 90% | ||
Ranked over all 150 genres in the encyclopedia, on the 2 answers you gave, weighted heaviness 2, pace 2 out of 4. Dream pop leads the next by 5 points. Where two genres score the same the broader one wins, because a genre with subgenres under it is somewhere to carry on from and a leaf is a full stop.
Five records, in this order
- 1Start one step outside
My Bloody Valentine, Loveless 1991
My Bloody Valentine - Loveless. Nobody has yet reproduced the sound exactly.
- 2The one to put on first
Cocteau Twins, Heaven or Las Vegas 1990
Cocteau Twins - Heaven or Las Vegas. You won't follow the words, and it doesn't matter.
- 3Then
- 4Then
- 5Then
The first is the entry point for Shoegaze, one step outside, so the second record has something to be heard against. After it come Dream pop's essential records in the order the encyclopedia lists them. Every one of these has a page here with links out to somewhere it can be played.
If that is not it
-
Indie pop / twee 85%
Sweet melodies, shy vocals, clean guitars. The gentle reaction to rock machismo.
4 steps from Dream pop, meeting it only at Alternative rock.
The way into Indie pop / twee -
Folk rock 85%
Folk lyrics played on a twelve-string electric guitar. It taught rock that the words can matter as much as the riff.
4 steps from Dream pop, meeting it only at Rock.
The way into Folk rock
Not simply the second and third of the ranking: those are almost always near neighbours of the first, which is three names for one suggestion. An alternate has to sit at least 4 steps through the tree from the headline and from the other alternate, which is the same floor the "sounds like this, but isn't" panel uses.
What your answers ruled out
- Light put 12 genres at the bottom of that one question, among them Death metal, Brutal death metal, Sludge metal. Worth 2 of 4.
- Slow. Let it take its time. put 22 genres at the bottom of that one question, among them Hardcore punk, Black metal, Death metal. Worth 2 of 4.
Counted as genres scoring 20% or less on that answer alone. A recommendation that only shows what it chose is hiding half of what it did.