Archive for January 13th, 2010
For decades the sound of electric guitars has dominated the zeitgeist of popular rock music, but recently there has been a shift to mellower, acoustic sounds. The change started occurring near the end of the grunge era, when bands like Nirvana and Alice in Chains participated in MTV’s acoustic program Unplugged. When these quintessential grunge bands whipped out their acoustic guitars, fans began to have an appreciation for the toned down sound.
Today there is a litany of new bands emerging that exclusively play acoustic music, many of which have been received with critical acclaim. One of the most highly touted albums of the last year is the self-titled release by The xx, which features a distinctive minimalistic acoustic sound. Other successful acoustic groups to emerge in recent years include Bon Iver and the Fleet Foxes.