History LighterAndSofter / Music

* Ethereal Wave is a subgenre of GothRock that takes the scything guitar that Goth Rock is defined by and adds in soothing synths, [[OneWomanWail airy vocals]], and classical instruments like the violin.

* Music/FaithNoMore really had no way to go ''but'' LighterAndSofter after the nightmarish ''Angel Dust''. ''King for a Day... Fool for a Lifetime'' had its share of disturbing and brutal metal tracks ("Cuckoo for Caca", "Ugly in the Morning"), but the contrasting songs were noticeably way more laid-back, usually alternating between AlternativeRock, lighter takes on {{Grunge}} and {{Novelty Song}}s in the styles of {{Jazz}} and {{Pop}}. ''Album of the Year'' mostly followed suit, with the occasional ''Angel Dust''-esque metal number ("Collision", "Last Cup of Sorrow", "Paths of Glory") surrounded by more upbeat {{Punk|Rock}} and AlternativeRock tracks as well as experiments with ambient {{electronic|music}} sounds. Though both of these albums came after the departure of original guitarist Jim Martin, they are still noticeably DarkerAndEdgier than ''Introduce Yourself'' and ''The Real Thing''.

* Music/TheHumanLeague started out playing electronic music with a cold, clinical sound and lyrics that frequently went into MindScrew territory. One lineup change later, they released ''Dare'', which moved the band into the slick SynthPop sound that would define their career.

* Music/TheVelvetUnderground have an interesting trajectory in this regard. Their first album -- 1967's ''Music/TheVelvetUndergroundAndNico'' -- was a fairly eclectic mix of soft stuff, hard stuff, and hard stuff that sounds soft (consider "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YdLSuRECKdI Sunday Morning]]", for instance). The next album, ''Music/WhiteLightWhiteHeat'', took a definite turn for the experimental and {{dark|erAndEdgier}} (the title track is about amphetamines, and it gets more macabre -- often [[BlackComedy hilariously]] so -- from there; John Cale stated that it was "consciously anti-beauty"). However, the third album, 1969's ''Music/{{The Velvet Underground|Album}}'', is a lot mellower (if nevertheless experimental) -- something the band occasionally attributed to having their equipment stolen before recording -- and finally 1970's ''Music/{{Loaded}}'' (so called because [[ExecutiveMeddling the label wanted an album "loaded with hits"]]), which is ''much'' softer musically (but also just as experimental, proving Administrivia/TropesAreNotBad).

** This is also common when leveled at specific artists within the genre. Primarily HardcoreHipHop rappers and the Blue Collar and Hardcore variants of GangstaRap. A good example would be Music/FiftyCent whom ironically built his image around being the anti-Ja Rule (whom also turned lighter), which to some made Fiddy a hypocrite. Then there's others like Music/SnoopDogg, Music/ThreeSixMafia, Music/JayZ, Music/{{Nas}} (circa ''Nastradamus''), the later years of No Limit records, Music/BoneThugsNHarmony (fans thinking they're still trying to chase [[BlackSheepHit "Tha Crossroads"]], or at least the record label is), Music/WuTangClan circa ''Wu-Tang Forever'' (RZA saying it was a record [[ButNotTooBlack for white people]]).

* ''Music/MyChemicalRomance'' has ''Music/DangerDaysTheTrueLivesOfTheFabulousKilljoys''. While still embodying the band's strong language and edgy themes, this album seems like a much lighter direction in themes and musical style, particularly considering that the emo factor and dark imaginery are non-existent here. Instead, the band here opted for a much more punk rock style and musical elements of power pop and pop rock.

* There's two versions of Andrew Belle's "Sky's Still Blue": The original and the version made for a commercial. The revised version is significantly fluffier, with a lighter tone, an acoustic sound, and changed lyrics, compared to the melancholy original.

* The first two albums by Music/MotleyCrue, ''Too Fast for Love'' and ''Shout at the Devil'', were dark and gritty HeavyMetal albums with lyrics that dealt with things like drug abuse and Satanism. Starting with their third album, ''Theatre of Pain'', they moved in a more MTV-friendly {{hard rock}} direction with anthems like "Smokin' in the Boys' Room" and power ballads like "Home Sweet Home".

* Music/DefLeppard was once considered one of the major bands of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, alongside Music/IronMaiden and Music/{{Motorhead}}. These days, most people only know the band for their radio-friendly HairMetal hits that started with their third album, ''Pyromania''. The band-members openly admit that they adopted a softer, more mainstream sound in an effort to become more popular and successful. It worked, ''big time''.

* Ethereal Wave is a subgenre of GothRock that takes the scything guitar that Goth Rock is defined by and adds in soothing synths and classical instruments like the violin.

** Specific rapper example: The early works made by South Korean rapper Music/{{PSY}} [[OlderThanTheyThink during his debut years]] were dark and gritty, with his ''Urbanite'' took that UpToEleven by turning Workaholic {{Crapsaccharine|World}} social phenomenon into SarcasmMode. Then come to TheNewTens, his recent songs like ''Music/GangnamStyle'' and ''Napal Baji'' becoming brighter and sillier, with a few serious moments.

* Music/TheCure followed the dark ''Pornography'' with a series of deliberately LighterAndSofter singles (subsequently collected as ''Japanese Whispers'') and the accessible pop album ''The Head On The Door''. They did a similar "reset" a few years later after the brooding ''Disintegration'', following it up with ''Mixed Up'', a consciously commercial collection of dance remixes. ''4:19 Dream'' compared to its predecessor ''The Cure'' is another example.

* Music/FaithNoMore really had no way to go ''but'' LighterAndSofter after the nightmarish ''Angel Dust''. ''King for a Day... Fool for a Lifetime'' had its share of disturbing and brutal metal tracks ("Cuckoo for Caca", "Ugly in the Morning"), but the contrasting songs were noticeably way more laid-back, usually alternating between AlternativeRock, lighter takes on {{Grunge}} and {{Novelty Song}}s in the styles of {{Jazz}} and {{Pop}}. ''Album of the Year'' mostly followed suit, with the occasional ''Angel Dust''-esque metal number ("Collision", "Last Cup of Sorrow", "Paths of Glory") surrounded by more upbeat {{Punk|Rock}} and Alt Rock tracks as well as experiments with ambient {{electronic|music}} sounds. Though both of these albums came after the departure of original guitarist Jim Martin, they are still noticeably DarkerAndEdgier than ''Introduce Yourself'' and ''The Real Thing''.