IS INDIE POP FORMULAIC? 6 KEYS TO CLASSIC SUMMER SOUND

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Is indie pop formulaic?

Last summer, discosalt writer Casey Bowers  pinned down 6 Keys to a Classic Summer Sound:

1. 60’s girl group pop melodies

2. Big, bright surf guitars

3. Vocals drenched (or drowned) in reverb

4. Any sound resembling The Beach Boys or Jan and Dean

5. Lyrics with the words: beach, summer, sun or waves

6. 80’s dream pop influence

This year, with the onslaught of 90s indie rock influence, garage rock leanings and psychedelic or chill vibes, 2011 has been about deviation. Here are some tracks that stayed true and got stuck in our heads and a few others that broke away, blurred the lines and just flat out floored us.


1. Bedroom Eyes - Dum Dum Girls

2. Summer Hits Or J Plus J Don't Like - Mazes


3. Hold On - Yellow Ostrich


4. Speaking In Tongues (featuring David Byrne) - Arcade Fire


5. Bone Orchard - Turrks


6. Where I'm Going - Cut Copy


7. Come to the City - The War on Drugs


8. Georgia - Yuck


You can check out Casey's article " Radiohead: Echoes of the Past, Glimpses of the Future" in the REMIX ISSUE of DISCOSALT Magazine, on sale now.


 

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