Ethereal wave

In the mid-1980s, several Cocteau Twins/This Mortal Coil records were described as "ethereal", "etherealism", and "ethereal romanticism". Billboard, and Option music magazine, started using the term "ethereal goth" more frequently, whereas European music magazines, primarily German zines such as Glasnost, Aeterna, Entry, Black, and Astan, had named the genre "ethereal wave" in the same vein as new wave, dark wave, and cold wave. Historically, the term was mostly applied to the roster of 4AD label − not only referring to music, but also regarding aesthetics of the graphical visualization. The "ethereal" designation has been taken over by authors such as Mick Mercer and Dave Thompson to delineate the same musical phenomenon in their books, while Simon Reynolds began using the term "goth-lite" (or "post-goth", a term he coined in 1987) to describe the music of Cocteau Twins, Dead Can Dance, and related 4AD artists. "Goth-lite" first appeared in 1995 in magazines such as CMJ New Music Monthly (Douglas Wolk) and SPIN (Jody Press) as a retroactive description of Siouxsie and the Banshees' Tinderbox album, which heavily relies on the use of guitar pedals and studio effects in songs such as "92 Degrees" and "Land's End". == Style characteristics ==

The defining characteristic of the style is the use of effects-laden guitar soundscapes, frequently post-punk-oriented bass lines, restrained tempo (ranging from down- to midtempo) and high register female vocals Another significant feature is the extensive use of drum machines, typical of many 4AD productions and initially established by Cocteau Twins' Garlands album and the first full-length work of Dead Can Dance. Acoustic guitars, often combined with electric guitars and bass guitars, are sometimes used to create a more folk-oriented feel (e.g. Love Spirals Downwards). Aside from the genre's post-punk and gothic rock roots, some ethereal bands, namely Lycia and Soul Whirling Somewhere, were equally influenced by ambient and soundtrack-oriented music and/or by more traditional progressive rock textures. == History ==

1980s: roots and initiators The late 1970s to early 1980s was a period in which some musicians after punk rock explored musical paths interchangeably described as post-punk and new wave. Technical improvement and the rise of affordable equipment such as drum machines and synthesizers "helped give birth to Goth". Seminal music artists such as the Cure, Siouxsie and the Banshees, New Order, and Cocteau Twins − who were able to expand and refine their style over the years − began to emerge from the darker strands of post-punk (see dark wave and gothic rock), and tended to "became more ethereal in the process." During this time, ethereal was not solidified as a genre on its own until the appearance of the Cocteau Twins and their widely cited early works Head over Heels and Treasure, which set the blueprint for a separate style in music. Peter Buckley wrote, "The band began to ditch the spikiness of Garlands, as Robin Guthrie developed a lush cascading guitar technique, creating a rich texture and an otherworldly feel ... From this point on, music journalists found it impossible to describe the band's work without resorting to the word 'Ethereal'", while according to Rick Poynor, "... it was the Cocteau Twins, whose debut album, "Garlands", appeared on 4AD in 1982, who proved to be the label's first major artists and did much to crystallize 4AD's image in its early years as an other-worldly purveyor of Ethereal music by reclusive groups who preferred the shadows to the light." Soon, the ethereal style that has been dismissed at times as "swirly-girlie music" became closely associated with a certain type of audience, occasionally referred to as "ether(eal) goths" or "romantigoths". Liisa Ladouceur, writing in the Encyclopedia Gothica, said, "The Cocteau Twins remain ground zero for the Ethereal subgenre and ... gave Romantigoths a soundtrack for clubbing." Other bands from the 1980s who spawned a similar sound were Dif Juz, Breathless, Lowlife, All About Eve, A Primary Industry, Vazz, and Drowning Pool (not to be confused with the metal band). According to Heather Phares, arts editor at The Michigan Daily, the genre reached its first high point in 1986/87. At that time, Siouxsie and the Banshees released their studio album Tinderbox, followed by All About Eve's In the Clouds, A Primary Industry's Ultramarine, and Cocteau Twins' last ethereal E.P. ''Love's Easy Tears''. 1990s: peak and decline Within the gothic/dark wave scene, the genre reached a higher level of popularity throughout the 1990s, especially in the first half of the decade. During this time, ethereal wave and rock genres such as shoegazing (aka dream pop) interacted with each other, with many artists being influenced by 4AD bands, such as the aforementioned Cocteau Twins and This Mortal Coil as well as early All About Eve, and Siouxsie and the Banshees. The Portsmouth-based ethereal band Siddal, for example, described their musical output as a "product of influences such as the Cocteau Twins, Low, Slowdive, the Cure, and Dead Can Dance, use a blend of ambient music, shoegazer style guitars, synths and sequenced rhythms." Other examples of this cross-pollination (partly referred to as "ethereal pop") include Hugo Largo, Rose Chronicles, Miranda Sex Garden, Cranes, Chimera, An April March, Hex, Common Language, the Glee Club, and Siouxsie and the Banshees. Since the early 1990s, the "ethereal" tag is primarily associated with the Projekt label, which had already used the term in 1987. The label featured some of the most well-known acts of the US music scene such as Love Spirals Downwards and Lycia. Similar record labels that harbored some of the leading lights of the movement were Tess Records (This Ascension, Trance to the Sun, and Autumn), Bedazzled (Strange Boutique, Siddal, Mistle Thrush, and An April March), More recent bands who partly represent the genre are Autumn's Grey Solace, Tearwave, Ashrae Fax, Mercury's Antennae, Saigon Blue Rain, Vision Eternel, Melodyguild, Faded Sympathy, Scarlet Mother, and the collaboration between Broaddaylight and Robin Guthrie. == Distinction ==

Although ethereal wave and shoegazing (also referred to as dream pop) share some similarities (e.g. the use of guitar effects such as flanger, chorus, echo, and delay), and a conventional instrumentation based on guitars, bass and drums. Initially, drum machines were not a regular part of the shoegazing genre but a basic component of new wave, post-punk, and gothic rock music. devoid of any influences of the simultaneously existing noise pop movement. Most ethereal wave groups, such as Cocteau Twins, early Dead Can Dance, Area, Love Spirals Downwards, Lycia, Autumn, and Speaking Silence, employed drum machines and electronically generated rhythms. Ethereal wave is predominantly a female-fronted style, or, more rarely, gender-balanced (My Bloody Valentine, Slowdive, Secret Shine, The Telescopes). According to Joshua Gunn, Assistant Professor of Rhetorical Studies at Louisiana State University, "Women have a much larger role in Darkwave and [...] the Ethereal subgenre that developed in Europe". == References ==