Indie-Pop for Dummies
At the roots of indie-pop
In a time when the term indie-pop is trivialized and used simply to describe independent music that sounds pop, we wanted to try to restore its original meaning through a guide, a collection and a compilation, which will help take the first steps within this and other genres to come. This is not meant, however, to be merely a celebration of how well indie-pop managed to sum up and idealize, in its songs and melodies, the aura of one of the best moments of everyone's life (adolescence), but rather to be a reminder of how all of this still makes it special today.
Indie-pop was, and is, a musical genre born around UK punk and post-punk in the early Eighties. From punk, in particular, it borrowed certain ideas about politics and the culture of production. It adopted, and adapted to, the idea that music should be made by and for its own audience, regardless of the rules and ownership structures of the major labels.
What set it apart from punk was undoubtedly the sound: a decidedly pop emphasis over a melodic structure and seemingly simple instrumentation. Although indie-pop would later be better defined in the years that followed, this was from the outset one of the traits that most characterized it. For musicians, this turn towards pop meant not only rounded melodies, extreme accessibility and a well-structured song form, but also an exclusive intimacy, a total absence of pretentious virtuosity and of typically masculine aggressiveness.
The genre, moreover, was also marked by the importance of women in its growth and development, underlined not only by the presence of many female musicians, but also by their participation in the scene itself and in everything surrounding indie-pop production (labels, fanzines, etc.). This emphasis on an excessive femininity ended up, however, causing the genre to be accused of being overly “girly”, even though indie-pop later incorporated certain elements of masculine “authenticity” (especially in America). Instead, it was “girly” in the way both men and women approached and played with these musical and emotional conventions of femininity. It's an interaction between a masculine “authenticity” and a femininity still to be discovered.
Even the label “twee”, often attached to the genre to underline its “gentleness” bordering on the naive, has at times taken on a negative connotation, yet one of indie-pop's unmistakable traits is its (self-)irony, which led many bands to skillfully play with the very stereotypes critics accused them of (Tullycraft, Sarandon, Spring Boutique, etc.). Indeed, indie-pop has from the start been a decidedly self-referential genre, feeding on a range of disparate models united by a firm, immediate melodic approach: the girl groups of the Sixties, the jangling guitars descending from the Byrds, a touch of soul and Bacharach, a hint of psychedelia alongside punk essentialism, folk and singer-songwriter roots never denied, along a line that runs all the way to the shy exuberance of the Smiths, from which it then sowed the seeds that quickly made the movement flourish. Models revisited with a spirit at once deadly serious and smiling, intellectually introspective yet driven by a strong communicative urgency. Models that, for better or worse, have made up for the indie-pop scene a kind of strongly defining, consciously shared heritage, which today, almost thirty years after the first stirrings, remains largely unchanged among new devotees, indeed spontaneously, artisanally and enthusiastically revitalizing the insights of the bands of the mid-Eighties.
In this guide, free of any encyclopedic pretension, we have therefore gathered ten small but great albums that have, in some way, defined and framed the genre around the world. Don't be surprised, though, to find seven of the ten selected records coming from the UK (three of them released on Sarah Records, the label that more than any other managed to stay soviet-style faithful to the defining traits of indie-pop), because that's where it all began.
The ten chosen records are listed in strictly chronological order.
Orange Juice – You Can’t Hide Your Love Forever (Polydor, 1982)
“What can I do to see your fine teeth smiling at me?”
It's unthinkable to start compiling this indie-pop list without Orange Juice. Vital and refreshing. Collins, Kirk, McClymont and Daly, across a handful of singles on the seminal Postcard Records, managed, drawing on the melancholic side of the Velvet Underground, on DIY ideals and punk's ethos, on its non-conformist stubbornness, on Sixties pop and Northern Soul, to distill what came to be called “Scottish youth” and later lay the groundwork for indie-pop as a whole. “You Can’t Hide Your Love Forever”, their full-length debut released on Polydor, condenses all of this into fifteen priceless funk-pop gems. “Falling and Laughing”, the Scots' first single, “Tender Object”, “Consolation Price” or the schizophrenic “Wan Light” all wallow in a sea of jangle shaped by Edwyn Collins's deep, warm voice, through which Orange Juice not only managed to craft some of the most amphetamine-fuelled songs of that era, fighting off the conservative onslaught of New Romantic, but also had an enormous impact on the emerging pop sensibility of millions of artists to come.
Felt – Forever Breathes The Lonely Word (Creation Records, 1986)
“Well, let me tell you something, it’s not what it seems, let me give you advice: come on now hang on to your dreams”
There's the genius of Martin Duffy behind Felt's pop turn. There's the genius of Martin Duffy on the cover of “Forever Breathes the Lonely Word” and again in the masterful organ opening of “Rain Of Crystal Spires”. In this sixth treasure chest by Felt, Lawrence, with the pull of Television still pulsing through him, finally goes straight for the heart with the deliberate melancholy hovering over the whole work: “I was pleased just then till you said that the sun will never shine”, “I was seeing my blood it dripped like tears”, “all the people I like are those are dead”… On their first record without instrumental tracks, there now blazes more than ever a climate of comforting despair, of a night of sensual failures in which, amid caresses, autumnal reflections, and interlocking guitars and organ, imaginative pieces like “September Lady”, “Gather Up Your Wings And Fly”, “Grey Streets”, “A Wave Crashed On Rocks” shine, along with all their whirls of harmonic arabesques blazing without interruption. A shard of cinematic pop perfection that exploded in '86, one that every indie-pop band, Belle and Sebastian first among them, has had to reckon with in the years since.
The Pastels – Up For a Bit With The Pastels (Glass Records, 1987)
Indie-pop before indie-pop.
The Pastels, from Glasgow (and evidently that's no coincidence: there must be something in the air…), debuted in 1987 with “Up For A Bit With The Pastels”, an innovative and utterly original work that, nonetheless, doesn't shun tradition and has no pretension whatsoever of being experimental. Still reminiscent of punk aesthetics, but heavily influenced by Sixties psychedelic pop, with a brilliant splash of bizarre orchestration, “Up For A Bit…” is the forerunner and pioneer of much of the jangly guitar pop that has kept Glasgow's fame alive ever since and for years to come. The Pastels, with their debut, positioned themselves, though not necessarily consciously, as a trait d'union between the art-rock of the Velvet Underground and the independent pop that, over the following 20 years, would go on to conquer the charts too. Classics like “Baby Honey”, the extraordinary “I’m Alright With You”, the almost rockabilly “Get ‘Round Town”, or the utterly dazed and infectious “Automatically Yours”, have, over time, turned this debut into a cult album that has influenced countless independent musicians, standing as a bulwark in defense of true pop against so much plasticized, homogenized music of the era. A work to be jealously guarded and shared only with those initiated into the “word”. Indie-pop before indie-pop was even conceived, as they say.
The Field Mice – Snowball (Sarah Records, 1989)
The greatest indie-pop band of all time? The standard-bearers of a label? Or perhaps the least indie-pop group on Sarah Records' roster? Probably, if you'll forgive the oxymorons, the Field Mice were a bit of all this. Mitcham, London suburbia, 1987: this is the setting where the Field Mice story begins, initially just Robert Wratten, Michael Hiscock and trusted producer Ian Catt. The field mice's arrival at Sarah Records came when the grooves in the cheese had already been dug deep by the label, but "Snowball" - the first 10" released in the summer of '89 - would strangely become one of its symbols and most important releases. Poetically the FM were no different from almost all the Sarah bands, with that loser's romanticism through which Bobby was able to glimpse beauty in every relationship heading towards its end, or more simply, in his own failures. Musically, though, they sounded naive precisely in their attempt to push the boundaries of the Sarah sound into emotional electronic territory. "Snowball" is a journey of bliss and melancholy through the propulsive "You're Kidding Aren't You", "This Love is not Wrong", the slow drip of "End of the Affair", a stunning "Couldn't Feel Safer" with Factory-era echoes pointing towards Wake, or a dancey "Let's Kiss and Make Up" (later picked up, as it happens, by Saint Etienne).
The Chills – Submarine Bells (Flying Nun, 1990)
In the mid-1980s, in the peripheral town of Dunedin, in the already peripheral New Zealand, a series of bands emerged from anonymity and, thanks to the far-sighted Flying Nun Records, managed to reach indie fans across half the world. Alongside The Bats, the Chills - led by the brilliant and prolific Martin Phillipps - are the most eclectic and talented band of the kiwi-pop scene. "Submarine Bells", unanimously considered their most complete album, opens - injecting a hefty dose of irony - with the memorable circular melody of "Heavenly Pop Hit", a small, disorienting marvel of keyboards and harmonies destined to become "the" Chills song. But it's not the only jewel in the band's crown: the New Zealanders' talent lies in their unique ability to be evocative and catchy, folk and post-punk, soft and abrasive, oblique and immediate all at once, blending these opposites not only across the album's 12 lively, varied tracks, but often even within the standard three minutes of a single song.
Blueboy – If Wishes Were Horses (Sarah Records, 1992)
"Nothing is purer than intense beauty".
If childhood were an album, what would it sound like? It would probably sound like "If Wishes Were Horses". It would seem impossible to condense the memories of the most fertile period of human existence into just 26 minutes, yet Keith Girdler and co. managed it. Beautifully. From the title (referring to the proverb claiming that if wishes were horses, then beggars would always be riding) to the artwork, Blueboy's full-length debut for Sarah Records (to be followed by two other fine works: "The Bank Of England" and "Unisex") is a concentrated dose of nostalgia for a past remembered through misty eyes and a tight, sweet grip on the heart. Probably one of the albums most genuinely true to the "genre", and one of the most underrated, "If Wishes Were Horses" not only celebrates the aesthetic of indie pop but fully embraces its sound, while also broadening its scope with clear nods to bossa nova and the use of cello to underline the yearning of an age full of emotion and wonder. Keith and Gemma's extremely delicate, almost diaphanous voices and Paul's gentle guitar give the listener a radiant little gem that will quietly work its way into many hearts and become a pillar of the most heartfelt indie pop. "Leaves are falling/ Mountains crumbing/She's in love with a memory".
Heavenly - Le Jardin De Heavenly (Sarah Records, 1992)
Indie-pop probably wouldn't exist without Amelia Fletcher and her various musical (re)incarnations. Her band Talulah Gosh didn't appear on either side of the legendary C86, but in the second half of the '80s they made a crucial contribution to defining the genre. Reborn in 1990 under the name Heavenly, the English band left behind Talulah's more homespun, naive side and sharpened its melodic focus across four excellent albums. "Le Jardin De Heavenly", the second in order of release, is probably the one that best captures the talent of Amelia and her bandmates: songs like "Starshy", "Tool", "Orange Corduroy Dress", "C Is The Heavenly Option" (a tremendous duet with Calvin Johnson of Beat Happening), "Sort Of Mine", "So Little Deserve" possess an overwhelming freshness, blending velvet and electricity, smiling vocal harmonies and deliberately rough-edged guitars, memories of '60s girl-groups and unspoken indie anxieties, all in the name of that sparkling, enthusiastic, outgoing immediacy that, even today, so many years later, still defines Fletcher's songwriting.
The Softies – It’s Love (K Records, 1995)
Indie-Pop goes to America and It's Love. Rougher, more muscular, more punk. These were probably the main differences between the American and English scenes, aside from a few bands released on Bus Stop ("the American Sarah") and the Softies. The duo, born from the meeting of Rose Melberg (the American counterpart to Amelia Fletcher), already active with Tiger Trap and Go Sailor, and Jen Sbragia (All Girl Summer Fun Band), put together on their debut for Calvin Johnson's K Records fourteen extremely delicate music-box miniatures of just guitar and voice, in the vein of what Tracey Thorn had done with Marine Girls. Melancholy pieces carried by a feather-light folk grace on a record that gradually fills up with feelings that are terribly true and pure, laying its emotions bare. From the sadly sweet farewell song "Hello Rain" (I made a paper boat and watched it going down the drain, So goodbye, wishing you well and hello rain) through the warm "I Love You More" and "It's Love" to the icy "Alaska", right up to a far more subdued cover of Talulah Gosh's "I Can't Get No Satisfaction (Thank God)". With a handful of vivid gems, the Softies uncovered and made room for small new spring shoots, fragile in appearance but strong thanks to solid, secure roots. It's love.
Belle and Sebastian – If You’re Feeling Sinister (Jeepster, 1996)
It was a bit like one era closing and a new phase opening. In 1995 the incredible Sarah Records experience was definitively written to a close; the following year, when it already seemed that indie-pop had said all it had to say, Belle And Sebastian broke through on the British independent scene with their second work, "If You're Feeling Sinister". If the debut "Tigermilk" had been a treat for a lucky few, and the EP "Dog On Wheels" had begun to open the doors to recognition, it was indeed thanks to "If You're Feeling Sinister" that the Glasgow band (of course...!) established themselves and gained a fame that would soon become international.
But even more than the acclaim and success it achieved, Belle And Sebastian's red album is a work that defines an era and remains essential because, like it or not, it would go on to represent the standard for indie-pop from that point on. The romantic understatement and sharpness of the lyrics, the boldly, almost aggressively twee attitude with no shyness or shame whatsoever, the proudly D.I.Y. aesthetic and a handful of unforgettable songs allow Stuart Murdoch, Isobel Campbell and co. to reshape the genre without upending it. A sort of revolution with monochrome photographs instead of flyers, with musical caresses instead of violence, and cardigans replacing uniforms. Stylistically influenced in equal measure by C86, folk and sixties-derived pop (not to mention northern soul), "If You're Feeling Sinister" strings together, one after another, songs that will be remembered and revered by indie-pop lovers for generations - from the twee manifesto "Fox In The Snow", to the bedroom anthem "Get Me Away From Here I'm Dying", to the title track, which manages the improbable feat of introducing religious themes into what had until then been a thoroughly secular indie-pop world. After "If You're Feeling Sinister", nothing (in the indie-pop world at least) would ever be the same again.
Sambassadeur - Sambassadeur (Labrador Records, 2005)
Scandinavia (and Sweden in particular) has always been an extraordinarily fertile ground for the seeds of indie-pop. Labrador Records has for fifteen years been Northern Europe's pop Eldorado, and has launched hugely important bands for the genre such as Acid House Kings, Club 8 and Edson. In 2005 the prolific Stockholm label released the self-titled debut of four young men from Malmö who, in choosing a name for their band, took inspiration from Gainsbourg. "Sambassadeur" - in its essential, almost naive spirit - is a small, precious summation of twenty years of indie-pop, fed in equally generous doses by Sarah Records and Belle & Sebastian, and skilfully distilled with that luminous sweetness that is, after all, the common thread running through dozens of Scandinavian bands, past and present. The autumnal melancholy of magnificent tracks like "New Moon", "Ice & Snow", "Still Life Ahead", "Between The Lines", "La chanson de Prevert", becomes pure atmosphere amid sullen acoustic caresses, dreamy electric surges, the inevitable jangly guitars, subtle electronic music-box tinkling, soft synth blankets, reassuring handclaps and calm vocal harmonies.
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This article is an English translation of the original Italian text by Francesco Amoroso, published on OndaRock.it. It was translated with the help of artificial intelligence, under the editorial responsibility of OndaRock's editor-in-chief, Claudio Fabretti.
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