Indie-Pop: Styles and Sounds

Pioneers and Influences:

In the late seventies an outburst of angry, raw music was bursting out of the garages of the United Kingdom. This music was called punk and bands such as The Clash, The Sex Pistols and The Damned, momentarily ruled the airways and inspired teenage hearts all over the U.K. This short-lived music phenomenon lasted only 2 years but its rawness, angst-ridden themes and independent release laid out the groundwork for indie rock and roll. Around the time of Punk, most independent bands were playing this punk music with usually the one guitar, bass, drums and vocals approach with the standard verse-chorus structure and simple yet fast paced (around 140 to 175 bpm) 4/4 time signature. Most songs of the time clocked in at around 2:30 minutes and this simplicity, speed and rhythm

This song "Ever Fallen In Love" was a major influence for the Indie-Pop to come in the later centuries. It's fast 180 BPM, sweet melodies and simple harmonies inspired by 60's bands such as the Beach Boys and the Easybeats

The Buzzcocks - Ever Fallen In Love

After the original Punk outburst died down, young punks became experimenting with their sounds, adding ambience, dance-ability and techniques from styles of music outside of the usual simple British rock template. Different rhythm patterns and syncopated drumbeats become introduced to the independent music scene and this experimental version of punk music was called Post-Punk. Post-Punk pioneered the use of the bass guitar as a lead instrument and basing a song around a simple and repetitive bass line which was inspired by 60's and 70's Krautrock bands "Can" and "Neu!"

One of the first Post-Punk singles to directly influence the Indie-Pop 20 years after it was released, was The Cure's song Boy's Don't Cry, experimenting with sound effects and emotions that punk was too afraid to use. This songs BPM (like the Cure's punk predecessors) was 165 BPM, rolling bass line and cropped, simple disco beat later became a large inspiration for later Indie-Pop bands such as the melodies of the Shout Out Louds and the guitar of bands such as the Drums.

The Cure - Boys Don't Cry

In the mid 1980’s of Britain a style of music developed from the New Romantic movement that was current at the time, with the musicians of the 1980’s, becoming tired of the glamorous funk inspired pop of the time with bands like Duran Duran and the Human League ruling the airways, took the basic, catchy, pop elements of these bands and added a signature jangly and reverb soaked guitar sound to the music as well as the heartbroken, despondent themes and raw technique that the punk and post-punk bands prior to them had explored.

The original British Indie-Rock sound varied quite a bit during the eighties but most of the bands around that time, shared a distinct style of guitar, bass and most common, vocals. The vocal style was to prove that to sing sweet melodies you did not have to be a trained or particularly good singer to get the idea of melody across. This begun the technique of using the voice as an accompaniment to the band rather than a lead instrument (originally explored in punk). The reverb soaked guitar and the use of bass as a lead instrument often characterized the British Indie sound of the time and is shown here in the example, “There is a light that never goes out” by The Smiths. This guitar sound, often syncopated with the rhythm, inspired bands such as Vampire Weekend and its lyrics portraying despair and heartbreak was carried down to most of the Indie-Pop bands of the 21st century. This style of Indie music was passed around through the famous C83 music mixture slowed a lot of the music down and left more time and room for the fey melodies and nifty, reverb soaked guitar work.

The Smiths - There Is A Light That Never Goes Out

This British style of what was known as Indie-Rock then moved to the U.S and in the late eighties to the early nineties, hundreds of Indie-Rock bands started up all over the western world. The U.S brand of Indie-Rock was slightly different to the original British version though it still contained the catchy melodies, raw recordings and despaired lyrics that it had been originally associated with. This Indie-Rock style soon was found in the U.S being used by bands such as Pavement, Sonic Youth and The Pixies. The styling of Indie-Rock became yet again changed

Here is are some examples of the British template of Indie-Rock being converted into a more Americanized version with different styles of guitar playing involving strumming the guitar in such a way as a consistent ringing, open-string bass note is being played whilst the melody is played on the strings below. This style gives the impression of two guitar players in the band and helps fill out the sound and combined with a chorus or phaser effect, gives the sound a distinct droning melody.

Pavement - Cut Your Hair

During the late nineties the fuzzed up stylings of grunge and metal ruled the teenage radio stations though in the early 21st century, a handful of bands begun flying the Indie-Rock flag once again, with syncopated 4/4 rhythms, angular guitar lines and fast tempos. One of these bands were "The Strokes" who bought a new and interesting edge to indie-rock with influences from sixties garage and surf rock to Motown and Ska stylings.

The Strokes - Someday

Contemporary Indie-Pop

The Drums - Lets Go Surfing

This song by the Drums is signature to the Indie-Pop due to its lyrical content and singing style. The lyrics of Indie-Pop generally conjure images of young romance and discovering new things, this in due course has a lot to do with the singing style and often the music is changed to major keys and simple chord progressions to compliment the fluffiness of the singing.

Tokyo Police Club - Citizens of Tommorow

This song by Tokyo Police Club demonstrates the angular and melodic style of guitar frequently used in Indie-Pop. This picking style, usually played by quick strums to the more high pitched notes of the guitar combined with the boosted treble, lowered bass and digital delay effect on the guitar usually creates the sound desired with the picking usually displaying quater notes and with the notes played at a great speed with digital delay and reverb, it gives the guitar a almost orchestral quality to it.

Grizzly Bear - Two Weeks

This song by Grizzly Bear is signature to Indie-Pop with its use of vocal harmonies supplied by the backing vocalists of the band. The songs sweet melody is accompanied by the spacious backing vocals usually all singing different octaves and on some occasions, singing notes of different pitches to create chordal elements in the music. This technique was inspired by the doo-wop bands of the sixties and a handful of Indie-Rock bands in the Eighties.

Peter, Bjorn and John - The Young Folks

This song with its fast tempo and fey singing style brings back the styles of The Smiths and the startling harmonies of the major indie-pop influences The Beach Boys. The consistent 175 BPM carries the traits of the early influences on Indie-Pop like The Buzzcocks. What makes this song signature to Indie-Pop is its hook (the whistled melody) most successful Indie-Pop bands have a body generated hook in their rhythm or melody such as a handclap, a whistle and sometimes a click. A lot of the time when these body generated hooks are not used, a similar sequence is played on a synthesizer or glockenspiel with a specific sound.

Vampire Weekend - Mansard Roof

This song by Vampire Weekend shows Indie-Pop's connection with African music and tribal rhythms with its african style rhythms being similar to that of bands such as Fela Kuti and other modernised african bands. This style of almost tribal drumming is signature in a lot of Indie-Pop and often gives an anthemic quality to it. A lot of the time some Indie-Pop bands will have two percussionists as playing these rhythms can be quite strenuous and difficult to master.