Noise rock is a type of rock music that began in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Musicians mix rock music with loud, unusual sounds called noise. They use very high amounts of guitar distortion and feedback, mainly by playing electric guitars.
Etymology
The term "noise rock" is a blend of the words "noise" and "rock" music. The first known use of the term was on April 25, 1970, in an issue of Record World by writer John Kornblum, who used the phrase "psychedelic-noise-rock." On July 22, 1972, writer Nat Freedland wrote an article in Billboard magazine about how Germany's krautrock music scene influenced English rock bands. He ended the article by asking, "Is America the next step for German noise rock?"
Characteristics
Noise rock is a type of music that has two different styles, each influenced by different musical traditions. In the early 1980s, music critic Robert Christgau used the nickname "pigfuck" to describe the band Sonic Youth. Over time, this term became widely used to describe a group of artists, including Big Black, the Jesus Lizard, Flipper, Cows, Scratch Acid, and No Trend. These artists were connected to the post-hardcore and post-punk music scenes and were often linked to record labels like Amphetamine Reptile and Touch and Go. The second style of noise rock began in the late 1960s and was influenced by experimental and psychedelic music. Bands like the Velvet Underground, Red Krayola, Les Rallizes Dénudés, Fushitsusha, and Boredoms helped shape this style. Sonic Youth combined both the punk roots of noise rock and its more experimental sounds by using alternate guitar tunings and unusual techniques, such as playing guitar with drumsticks.
Sonic Youth is the only noise rock band to achieve commercial success. Their single "100%" from the album Dirty reached #4 on the US charts. Frontman Thurston Moore said:
The no wave music scene also helped shape noise rock. A compilation album called No New York was an important influence on the genre. Later, bands like Sonic Youth and Swans became key noise rock artists, drawing inspiration from no wave musicians Glenn Branca and Rhys Chatham.
Noise rock combines rock music with intense sounds, such as extreme guitar distortion, electronic effects, unusual musical tones, free-form playing, and loud, random noises.
Although noise rock was never widely popular, its raw and intense sound influenced other music styles. Shoegaze, which became popular in the 1990s, especially in the UK, and grunge, the most commercially successful genre, were both affected by noise rock. Nirvana's final album In Utero, produced by Steve Albini, was influenced by bands like Big Black, Wipers, the Pixies, Dinosaur Jr., and the Jesus Lizard. The Butthole Surfers, who mixed punk, heavy metal, and noise rock, also influenced early work by Soundgarden. Other important bands included Killdozer from Wisconsin, Big Black from Chicago, and Flipper from San Francisco.
History
During the mid-1960s, rock music bands began using guitar feedback and distortion more often. Garage and acid rock groups were especially influenced by artists like the Who, the Yardbirds, the Monks, Frank Zappa, Pink Floyd, the Velvet Underground, Jimi Hendrix, and the Grateful Dead. These musicians used guitar techniques that were loud and unusual, sometimes described as "noise."
In 1968, the Velvet Underground released an album called White Light/White Heat, which many later called the first noise rock album. Spin magazine called it the "ur-text" of the genre. The band's guitarist, Lou Reed, was inspired by a free jazz musician named Ornette Coleman. Reed used feedback and played the guitar in ways that created harsh, atonal sounds. This style was different from their earlier album, The Velvet Underground & Nico.
Other underground and experimental rock groups from the same time, such as Red Krayola, Michael Yonkers, Cromagnon, Pärson Sound, the Godz, the Ethix, the Sperm, and Nihilist Spasm Band, were also recognized as early influences in noise rock. One of the most notable groups was Les Rallizes Denudés, formed in Kyoto, Japan, in 1967. They were inspired by the Velvet Underground and later influenced Japanese noise and acid rock musicians.
In the United States, experimental music groups like the Residents and Half Japanese also played a role. The Residents released a noisy version of "Satisfaction" in 1976, and Half Japanese's 1977 EP Calling All Girls influenced later bands like Sonic Youth and Kurt Cobain.
From the late 1970s to the early 1980s, the term "noise rock" became linked to a type of punk music that used loud, harsh sounds. Bands like Chrome and MX-80 Sound helped shape this style. The Birthday Party, led by Nick Cave, was especially influential, inspiring many U.S. noise-rock groups. Other important influences included This Heat, Swell Maps, Wire, the Fall, and Pere Ubu. A 1979 compilation called Weird Noise E.P. was the first noise rock album to collect songs from multiple artists.
Steve Albini, a guitarist in the noise rock band Big Black, once said, "Good noise is like an orgasm." He explained that making a guitar sound unlike itself was a key part of noise rock. Albini also praised Ron Asheton of the Stooges, John McKay of Siouxsie and the Banshees, and Keith Levene of Public Image Ltd. for their unique guitar styles. Andy Gill of Gang of Four used long, abrasive guitar feedback in their song "Love Like Anthrax."
In 1978, the U.S. compilation album No New York, produced by Brian Eno, was an important record of the New York no wave scene. It included songs by bands like Teenage Jesus and the Jerks, Mars, DNA, and James Chance and the Contortions. Other influential bands not on the album, such as Theoretical Girls, Suicide, and the Static, also helped shape the scene.
During the 1980s, Big Black, Sonic Youth, and Swans were leading noise rock bands. Sonic Youth was the first noise rock band to sign with a major label in 1990. Other influential groups included Scratch Acid, Oxbow, Barkmarket, Pussy Galore, the Dead C, and No Trend. Bands like Ruins and Bitch Magnet began blending noise rock with math rock. In Japan, bands such as High Rise, Boredoms, Zeni Geva, and Mainliner also contributed to the genre. Later noise rock bands included Cows, Brainbombs, Rapeman, Season to Risk, and Unsane. The Quietus later called 1986 a key year for extreme music genres like noise rock.
As post-hardcore music developed in the early 1990s, bands like Mclusky, U.S. Maple, Polvo, Unwound, Drive Like Jehu, Today Is the Day, and Cherubs incorporated noise rock elements. Bands like Helmet added heavy metal influences, while Brainiac combined post-hardcore with synth-punk. Steve Albini formed the influential band Shellac in 1992, and the Jesus Lizard became a leading noise rock group in the U.S. with their loud, atonal style.
In the 1990s, the term "noise punk" began to appear. Bands like Lightning Bolt, based in Providence, Rhode Island, were key players in the noise punk scene. However, the band's bassist, Brian Gibson, disliked the label. Other noise punk artists included Arab on Radar, Liars, Boris, the Flying Luttenbachers, Zs, Laddio Bolocko, Hella, Royal Trux, and Harry Pussy. In Japan, bands from the Japanoise scene, such as Fushitsusha, EX-Girl, Destroy 2, and Space Streakings, also gained recognition.
In the early 2000s, noise rock bands like A Place to Bury Strangers, Daughters, Japandroids, METZ, the Goslings, and Death from Above 1979 emerged. Poppier acts, such as Pissed Jeans, Dope Body, and Karp, also contributed to the genre.
During the early 2010s, new noise rock bands like Gilla Band, Whores, and Mannequin Pussy appeared. London's Windmill scene helped launch Black Midi, whose debut album was called noise rock by Rolling Stone. In 2018, Daughters released You Won't Get What You Want, which received critical praise as a noise rock album.
Later, bands like Sprain and Chat Pile gained attention as noise rock groups.
Related genres
Pigfuck is a small music category within noise rock. It was first used by music critic Robert Christgau in the early 1980s to describe the loud and harsh sounds of the band Sonic Youth. This term was similar to another word Christgau created, "skronk," which described jagged and noisy guitar music. Over time, Pigfuck became linked to bands like Big Black, Butthole Surfers, Cows, Scratch Acid, No Trend, and Flipper. These bands were often connected to record labels such as Touch and Go Records and Amphetamine Reptile Records.
Noisecore is a type of music that combines elements of hardcore punk and noise music. It began in the mid-1980s. Bands known for this style include Melt-Banana, Gore Beyond Necropsy, Fat Day, and the Gerogerigegege.
Shitgaze is a small music category created in the early 2000s by the Midwestern rock band Psychedelic Horseshit. The band developed a style of noise rock they called "shitgaze." Other artists associated with this style include The Hospitals, No Age, Times New Viking, early Wavves, Grave Babies, Sic Alps, Vivian Girls, Sealings, early Best Coast, Meth Teeth, Pink Reason, The Bitters, Eat Skull, and P.H.F.