What is Noise Rock? A Genre Profile

Noise Rock developed in the early 80s, melding Punk's reckless energy with the dark, atonal approach of NYC's late 70s No Wave. Earliest inspiration came from the Velvet Underground and The Stooges, the experiments of Bowie and Captain Beefheart, the Free Jazz of Ornette Coleman and 20th century composers Schoenberg, Stockhausen, and Cage. Noise Rock's most emblematic band is Sonic Youth, who popularized its sounds for the College Rock and Alt Rock era of the late 80s. Much of the noise in Noise Rock comes from the feedback created between electric guitars and amplifiers, which is as a central aspect of the sound.

In response to the New Wave genre, No Wave artists tended to eschew the melodic hooks and verse-chorus structures of traditional Pop in favor of primitivism, Blues-based grooves, or pure improvisation. Teenage Jesus And The Jerks, DNA, and Mars, were all featured on the influential 1978 Brian Eno-produced compilation No New York. Another key figure from this era was Glenn Branca, who emerged from No Wave band Theoretical Girls. His compositions for bass, drums, and multiple guitars echoed these dark, atonal sounds. Both of Sonic Youth's guitarists, Lee Ranaldo and Thurston Moore, played for Branca in the 80s.

Moore and bassist Kim Gordon formed Sonic Youth in '81. Their early '80s sound was pure Noise Rock, with swirling feedback a fixture. Following the arrival of permanent drummer Steve Shelley in '85, the group turned toward more formal Rock structures, while still maintaining their core aesthetic. Swans, another NYC band, formed in 1982. The early Swans' take on Noise Rock was nihilistic yet cathartic. Another key Noise Rock band was Chicago's Big Black. Fronted by singer and guitarist Steve Albini, Big Black's pummeling drum machine rhythms and grinding guitars were a forerunner to the Industrial Music sound.

By the late '80s, most Noise Rock was focused on more cohesive song structures and an increased reliance on melody, though still outside the mainstream. Many new Noise Rock bands, including Japan's Boredoms, Austin's Scratch Acid, and Minneapolis' The Cows, appeared. Scuzz Rock, a willfully degenerate Noise Rock sub-genre featured Pussy Galore and, notably, Butthole Surfers. Sonic Youth veered more toward a pop sound with 1988's Daydream Nation. Swans added female singer in 1986 and mellowed considerably. Big Black didn't mellow, disbanding shortly after their influential 1987 LP, Songs About F*cking.

Noise Rock flourished greatly in the Alt Rock era of the 1990s. Bands like Nirvana and Smashing Pumpkins brought noise to the mainstream. Sonic Youth were on a major label and more popular than ever, their albums on the charts. From the ashes of Scratch Acid, The Jesus Lizard was born, bringing greater songcraft to the genre, while still playing with thunderous intensity. Japan's Melt-Banana carried the Noise Rock tradition thanks to Agata Ichirou's effects-ridden guitar playing. Even the outrageous Butthole Surfers found major label success in the 1990s. Swans broke up in 1997, but Gira and Jarboe continue to record.

In the 2000s, Noise Rock continues to be a vibrant genre. New York City's Liars echo the avant-garde primitivism of their distant No Wave forbearers. Japan's Boris are a Noise Rock band whose slowly churning style is called Drone (for obvious reasons). Xiu Xiu fuse Noise Rock onto literate, DIY bedroom pop. San Francisco's Deerhoof, who formed in 1990, became popular in the 2000s, Japanese-American Satomi Matsuzaki's girlish vocals contrasting with the band's Indie Pop take on Noise Rock.

Throughout it all, Sonic Youth, the godfathers of Noise Rock, continue to release strong, critically lauded albums, although their sound has mellowed over time, leaving the wilder flirtations with feedback and overdriven walls of sound to the younger generation they and their early peers inspired.

Sonic Youth Goo

Sonic Youth Daydream Nation

Big Black Songs About F*cking

Swan Real Love

Liars Drum's Not Dead

Deerhoof Friend Opportunity

Xiu Xiu The Air Force