Ethereal wave
[37][38][39] "Goth-lite" first appeared in 1995 in magazines such as CMJ New Music Monthly (Douglas Wolk)[40] and SPIN (Jody Press)[41] 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".
[42] The defining characteristic of the style is the use of effects-laden guitar soundscapes,[3][39] primarily based on minor key tonality (which unfolds a serious, dark and wistful atmosphere),[43] frequently post-punk-oriented bass lines, restrained tempo (ranging from down- to midtempo) and high register female vocals[43] (sometimes operatic and with hard-to-decipher lyrical content),[21] often closely intertwined with romantic aesthetics and pre-Raphaelite imagery.
[51] Seminal music artists such as the Cure, Siouxsie and the Banshees, the Chameleons and the Durutti Column − 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.
[21] Hits like "Melt", released in 1982, rely on a 3⁄4 time signature and an extensive use of digital delay, reverberation and modulation effects, accompanied by dark, unsettling lyrics, and have been described as languorous, seductive, and erotic.
[53][19][54][55] 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'",[56] 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.
"[15] In March 1986, journalist Sue Cummings of SPIN described the music as an "introspective reaction to the macho aggression of rock 'n' roll" and noticed "all those big black haircuts leaving [after] the Cocteau Twins' concert this past fall.
During this time, ethereal wave and rock genres such as shoegazing (aka dream pop) interacted with each other,[67] 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, the Chameleons, and Siouxsie and the Banshees.
"[69] Other examples of this cross-pollination (partly referred to as "ethereal pop"[70]) include Hugo Largo,[71] Rose Chronicles,[72] Miranda Sex Garden, Cranes, Chimera, An April March, Hex,[73] Common Language, the Glee Club,[64] Lovesliescrushing, and Rosewater Elizabeth.
[83][80] In the early 2000s, two Cocteau Twins tribute compilations, Dark Treasures (Cleopatra) and Half-Gifts (Dewdrops Records), were released, underlining the band's significant influence on the ethereal gothic sound.
[93][94][better source needed] Although ethereal wave and shoegazing (also referred to as dream pop[95][96]) share some similarities (e.g. the use of guitar effects such as flanger, chorus, echo, and delay),[97][39] there are substantial differences between the genres.
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.
