Noise Rock
Noise rock takes rock music and deliberately roughs it up. Guitars are detuned, scraped, struck with drumsticks or pushed into feedback; bass lines hit like heavy machinery; vocals are yelled, sneered or buried. Underneath it all there are usually real riffs and grooves, and that tension between song and assault is what makes it thrilling.
It came out of the American underground in the early and mid 1980s. In New York, Sonic Youth and Swans pushed volume and dissonance to extremes, while in Chicago, Steve Albini's Big Black and the Albini-recorded Jesus Lizard built a tougher, more physical strain.
It is still going strong, from duos like Lightning Bolt to bands like METZ and Daughters, and it rewards anyone who wants rock music to feel a little dangerous again. Turn it up: that is how it is meant to be heard.
Essential noise rock bands
Flipper: San Francisco punks who slowed everything to a sludgy, droning crawl in the early 1980s, an early sign of where noise rock was headed.
Sonic Youth: New York band who retuned their guitars in unusual ways and jammed objects under the strings, turning noise into something melodic and beautiful.
Swans: Michael Gira's band began as one of New York's slowest, most punishing bands, then grew into vast, hypnotic epics after reforming in 2010.
Big Black: Steve Albini's Chicago band: brutal, metallic guitars, a pounding drum machine and lyrics about the ugliest corners of American life.
Scratch Acid: Wild, lurching Austin band whose singer David Yow and bassist David Wm. Sims went on to form The Jesus Lizard.
The Jesus Lizard: Chicago band built on Duane Denison's razor-sharp guitar, a monster rhythm section and David Yow's chaotic, crowd-surfing vocals.
Unsane: New York trio known for pummeling, sludgy riffs, shouted vocals and a grimy, bruising live show.
Shellac: Albini's later trio with Bob Weston and Todd Trainer: stripped-down, precise and ferociously loud, with room for dry humor.
Lightning Bolt: Providence bass-and-drums duo playing at blinding speed and volume, famous for setting up on the floor among the crowd.
Pissed Jeans: Pennsylvania band aiming sludgy riffs and bellowed vocals at the frustrations of adult life, from office jobs to aging bodies.
METZ: Toronto trio who brought a tight, ferocious take on the sound to a new generation in the 2010s.
Daughters: Providence band who moved from chaotic grindcore into dark, pulsing, cinematic noise rock that won them a wide new audience.
Start here
Sonic Youth, Daydream Nation (1988)
A double album of sprawling, gorgeous noise, and the classic place to start.
Pounding drum machine and serrated guitars: harsh, fast and hugely influential.
The Jesus Lizard, Goat (1991)
Swaggering, bass-heavy and unhinged, recorded by Steve Albini.
Shellac, At Action Park (1994)
Lean, precise and punishing; every hit lands exactly where it should.
Lightning Bolt, Wonderful Rainbow (2003)
Just bass and drums, played in a frenzy that somehow stays catchy.
Two hours of slow-building, overwhelming sound from the reformed band. Commit to it.
Short, tight and ferocious: the modern starting point.
Daughters, You Won't Get What You Want (2018)
Dark, pulsing and genuinely unsettling, a modern landmark of the genre.
Sonic Youth
2.7M listenersPavement
2.2M listenersThe Jesus and Mary Chain
1.4M listenersDeerhunter
1.3M listeners
Dinosaur Jr.
1.3M listenersHEALTH
1M listenersButthole Surfers
978K listenersWhite Zombie
902K listenersSwans
805K listenersJulie
796K listeners
Wavves
742K listeners
Deerhoof
730K listenersHelmet
726K listeners
Slint
693K listenersBoris
637K listeners
IDLES
627K listenersParquet Courts
593K listenersDNA
590K listenersDNA
588K listenersLiars
566K listeners
Ty Segall
545K listenersMannequin Pussy
538K listenersblack midi
514K listenersCloud Nothings
506K listenersShow Me the Body
499K listenersHorse Jumper of Love
491K listenersUnwound
457K listenersDrop Nineteens
455K listenersJapandroids
454K listenersDum Dum Girls
453K listenersNothing
436K listenersYuck
433K listenersA Place to Bury Strangers
428K listenersRingo Deathstarr
424K listenersNo Age
399K listenersWednesday
399K listenersWednesday
397K listenersOvlov
395K listenersGrinderman
393K listenersBellini
385K listenersThe Blood Brothers
380K listenersDaughters
380K listenersIceage
373K listenersfeeble little horse
361K listenersThurston Moore
342K listenersHella
341K listenersBig Black
340K listenersLightning Bolt
339K listenersThe Birthday Party
338K listenersWomen
337K listenersSavages
329K listenersTitus Andronicus
328K listenersThey Are Gutting a Body of Water
312K listenersilluminati hotties
301K listenersThe Jesus Lizard
291K listenersProtomartyr
289K listeners
Protomartyr
288K listenersArchers of Loaf
288K listenersPolvo
285K listenersThe KVB
277K listenersSwirlies
277K listenersミドリ
276K listenersミドリ
276K listenersShellac
257K listenersDirty Beaches
254K listenersCymbals Eat Guitars
254K listenersWooden Shjips
246K listenersMaruja
237K listenersHorsey
230K listenersTropical Fuck Storm
229K listenersThis Heat
225K listenersSpeedy Ortiz
224K listenersMETZ
218K listenersSoviet Soviet
216K listenersMedicine
216K listenersDrive Like Jehu
212K listeners
Chat Pile
212K listenersCrocodiles
209K listenersPreoccupations
205K listenersMoon Duo
203K listenersWeekend
196K listenersWeekend
196K listenersTad
193K listenersNUMBER GIRL
191K listenersHorsegirl
190K listenersModel/Actriz
189K listenersPile
188K listenersPile
188K listenersThe Men
188K listenersThe Men
188K listenersFiddlehead
183K listenersCola
180K listenersThe Telescopes
180K listenersCola
180K listenersHTRK
177K listenersGuerilla Toss
176K listenersOn public radio, last 30 days
Last 30 days · via public radio playlists
| Rank | Album | Stations | Days on chart | Spins |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | | KCRW, KEXP, KUTX, The Current | 8 | 30 spins |
| 2 |  | KCRW, KEXP, KUTX | 1 | 4 spins |