01. THE DUNEDIN SOUND
The Clean / Anything Could Happen (Boodle Boodle Boodle EP November 1981)
Early 80’s Indie originating from the New Zealand South Island City of Dunedin which revolved largely around the magnificent Flying Nun Records.
02. MATH ROCK
Slint / Nosferatu Man (Spiderland March 1991)
Noted for its angular guitar rhythms, dramatically alternating dynamic shifts and irregular time signatures, the original math rock was the more challenging side of pre-grunge US alternative rock usually produced by Big Black and Nevermind supremo Steve Albini. Ironically Spiderland had nothing to do with him.
03. NU-PROG
Porcupine Tree / Fadeaway ( Up The Downstair May 1993)
A few years after proggy came early 80’s neo prog with Marillion and all those earnest Genesis copyists. Then came nu prog or post prog led by the brilliant first version of Steven Wilson’s Porcupine Tree.
04. SLOWCORE
Low / Words (I Could Live In Hope February 1994)
I don’t remember this at all although I do remember Low. Apparently slowcore was a handful of vaguely connected 90’s groups who had a thing for slow tempo’s and downbeat melodies.
05. POST ROCK
Disco Inferno / It’s A Kid’s World (It’s A Kids World EP October 1994)
This desperate journo invented moniker covered a multitude of groups using a trad rock line up to experiment and as such was applied to every pre-Britpop UK group who couldn’t be easily pigeonholed. The theory was great but the records generally weren’t.
06. CUDDLECORE
Cub / New York City (Come Out Come Out November 1994)
I‘d never heard of cuddlecore but listening to Cub it sounds like 80’s indie pop. In other words the usual mix of riotous punk and bittersweet harmonies. Pretty good infact.
07. ELECTROCLASH
Peaches / Tombstone Baby (Fatherfucker September 2003)
I’ve always loved Peaches but was slightly surprised when I found out that originally she was a standard bearer for electroclash. The genre name is self explanatory really; wholly electronic beats fusing techno, punk and electro pop without the slightest nod to dance. In effect, an updated version of Alan Vega and Martin Rev’s Suicide.
08. LAPTOP POP
Ratatat / Seventeen Years (Ratatat April 2004)
Ratatat exist pretty much as their own genre and a bit of a stupid one it is too. I expected futurism but couldn’t really feel it and then discovered that the term laptop pop actually relates to the recording process and not the sound. Does one group really constitute a genre? I think not.
09. FOLKTRONICA
Tunng / Mothers Daughter (Mothers Daughter & Other Tales January 2005)
Probably the least forgotten of this bunch. While electronica by its very nature has just got to be the antithesis of folk, somehow the likes of Tunng and Four Tet blend the two, mixing standard acoustic bits, sampled or otherwise, with modern beats while remaining undeniably folky. Good stuff.
10. NINTENDOCORE
The Depreciation Guild / In Her Gentle Jaws (In Her Gentle Jaws September 2007)
A variant on chiptune and chipcore, only in America would vintage Nintendo fans get all nostalgic for the 8 bit sound of their wasted youth and then try to recreate it. What the fuck is the point?
Chris Green