History Main / IndiePop

The foundations for indie pop started in the early 1980s, when British bands such as Music/OrangeJuice and Music/{{Felt}} sought to break away from the dark, abrasive sounds which defined Music/PostPunk and move into a softer, more romantic and melodic direction. It was especially used to describe British acts featured on the NME compilation ''[=C86=]''. British indie pop bands in the '80s were influenced by '60s music, jangly guitars and melodic PowerPop structures and especially the music of Music/TheSmiths. They often recorded for very small labels such as Sarah Records.

Indie pop first grew into popularity in the early 1980s, where it was especially used to describe British acts featured on the NME compilation ''[=C86=]''. British indie pop bands in the '80s were influenced by '60s music, jangly guitars and melodic PowerPop structures and especially the music of Music/TheSmiths. They often recorded for very small labels such as Sarah Records.

* Music/Tennis (also surf pop and dream pop)

Also known as "hipster pop" or "alternative pop". See also AlternativeRock, which is influential on the sound, and {{Synthpop}}, which often turns up in indie pop acts. PopRevival often goes hand-in-hand with indie pop, with many bands being both. In fact, it can be hard to tell the difference between the two at times. It also went hand-in-hand with JanglePop. In general, indie pop artists don't use instruments like guitars, bass, and drums...except when they do.

Indie pop first grew into popularity in the early 1980s, where it was especially used to describe British acts featured on the NME compilation ''[=C86=]''. British indie pop bands in the 1980s were influenced by '60s music, jangly guitars and melodic PowerPop structures and especially the music of Music/TheSmiths. They often recorded for very small labels such as Sarah Records.

Early indie pop acts like Heavenly and The Vaselines were often more influential than they were successful, but few others, such as Music/TheSundays and The Wedding Present, had minor chart hits in the UK and United States. The success of {{Britpop}} largely kept indie pop underground in the UK for most of the 90s, with only Music/BelleAndSebastian getting any significant press and became one of the biggest cult bands of the decade. Critics loved them and their following was large enough that they not only scored a few Top 40 singles but also - through fan vote - won Best British Breakthrough Act at the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1999_Brit_Awards 1999 Brit Awards]].

As indie pop continued to grow, it also did so in its sound; from that standpoint, it can be hard to describe what indie pop is supposed to sound like, since some indie pop acts don't really sound a whole lot like other indie pop acts. For example, compare Music/{{M83}} to Music/{{Lorde}}. One defining characteristic of the indie pop sound is the aforementioned freedom in the direction of their sound. As such, many indie pop acts may [[NeoclassicalPunkZydecoRockabilly incorporate elements of other genres]] (or [[GenreBusting even have a distinct sound that's hard to describe]]), have more [[WordSaladLyrics complex, harder to understand lyrics]], focus on themes besides the usual SillyLoveSongs and party anthems (often will be DarkerAndEdgier compared to standard pop), and some might make more liberal use of [[PrecisionFStrike profanity]], maybe even [[ClusterFBomb plentiful use of it]]. Also, many indie pop artists make use of [[ElectronicMusic electronics]] and [[{{Synthpop}} synths]] with varying degrees of prominence, though not all of them do.

* Music/MisterWives

* Music/TelevisionPersonalities

* Music/StuckInTheSound (also indie rock)

** '''Music/Crybaby''' (2016)

** ''Music/Crybaby'' (2016)

* Music/BORNS (also indie rock)

* Music/BØRNS (also indie rock)

* Music/{{BØRNS}} (also indie rock)

* XMeetsY: Music/{{Pop}} meets independence.

The American indie pop scene was even more underground than Britian's and was led by bands like Music/BeatHappening, Music/TheMagneticFields, Music/YoLaTengo and Low. The only place where indie pop became a significant chart success before the turn of the millennium was New Zealand during the mid-to-late 1980s, where bands like The Chills and The Clean scored hit singles out of the homegrown Dunedin Sound scene.

* Creator/AndyBiersack