Five albums that defined microgenres in the 2010s
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(Credits: Far Out / Album Covers)
The internet era has been particularly fruitful for music creation. While it has negatively impacted artists in terms of monetary gain due to the emergence of platforms such as Spotify, the flipside is that the mass of information and tools it has supplied have seen sonics evolve markedly. A range of different forms and genres have arrived over the past 20 years in an era of diversification like no other. One aspect of this abundant artistic period that has taken music by storm is a strange thing called the microgenre.
By definition, a microgenre is a specialised or niche genre. The term is not new; it has been used since the 1970s to describe specific subgenres of music, as well as those in other areas such as art and film. However, it has really taken off over the past two decades in music, an environment that has never been as diverse thanks to the proliferation of the internet and technology, with an array of niche forms springing up and bottling a specific moment in time.
During the rollout of the digital age, which is now in full swing due to technology impressing itself upon life inextricably, the concept of the microgenre came to the fore more resoundingly than ever. Dubbed an explosion, there is no better place to find them than on Spotify’s extensive index of playlists that connect sets of artists you might have otherwise characterised with broader genre names.
Specifically, things took off for the microgenres in the 2010s when inclusive internet access brought together a global community of musicians, all of different creative and societal backgrounds but sharing a postmodern predilection for blending forms previously thought distinct. From lo-fi pop to blackgaze and egg punk, many sounds emerged that helped define the decade’s truly innovative essence. For this reason, we’ve listed five albums that defined this wave of microgenres in such a consequential ten years.
Five albums that defined micro-genres of the 2010s:
Lo-fi: 2 – Mac DeMarco (2012)
Any list of defining albums of the 2010s would not be complete without one of its most important and influential musicians, Mac DeMarco, let alone one concerning the niche world of microgenres, which he had a firm hand in bringing to the fore. While he might have heavily inspired the resurgence of slacker rock and jangle pop, the underlying lo-fi essence of the Canadian’s work takes the crown here, with no better example than 2.
The warm analogue nature of this record was what pulled DeMarco to higher climes and saw him start his journey to becoming a contemporary icon. Recorded in his Montreal apartment, his success in doing it himself spread the gospel to legions of fans, who felt less compelled to pay big money to capture their work digitally in a studio, and instead create a sonic world in and of their own context. From ‘Ode to Viceroy’ to ‘My Kind of Woman’, it’s brimming with classics that many subsequent acts can be traced back to.
Blackgaze: Sunbather – Deafheaven (2013)
Blackgaze might be a controversial genre for some of the most ardent black metal acolytes, but there can be no doubt that when San Francisco’s Deafheaven finally earned greater prominence with their second album, the masterpiece Sunbather, it was a significant moment. It saw the quintet refine their blend of punishing metal licks and glistening shoegaze emotion and become one of the decade’s most influential groups.
Opening with the utterly rousing chef-d’oeuvre ‘Dream House’, wherein the band instantly asserted that they had taken things up a notch with Kerry McCoy’s guitar playing the tip of this excellence, and frontman George Clarke’s vocals also arresting, from the onset to the final second it captures the imagination. Sunbather was the first moment that metal and heavier music suggested it might be coming to greater prominence once more, this time loved by hipsters too.
Cloud rap: Warlord – Yung Lean (2016)
Another figure who had a consequential impact on contemporary music with his efforts in the 2010s, is Swedish cloud and emo rap pioneer, Yung Lean. While he might have gone viral in 2013 with ‘Ginseng Strip 2002’ it was his second album, 2016’s Warlord, that crystallised his atmospheric formula and inspired a generation of artists.
Of course, Lean’s back catalogue is one of the most revered of the past decade or so, but the way he made hip-hop much darker and, in parts, emotional on Warlord, with slick production propping the whole thing up, confirmed that this new wave of rap was here for good, and more culturally relevant that people had initially given it credit for. It might not be for everyone, but there’s no doubt about the impact Lean and Warlord have had in ratifying the cloud rap microgenre.
Vaporwave: Slide – George Clanton (2018)
George Clanton is one of the figures on this list who has pushed the idea of microgenre to its limit with his intoxicating sonic blends. He has been significant in the vaporwave, chillwave, and hypnagogic pop forms rising, operating under his birth name, Mirror Kisses, ESPRIT 空想, and Kid’s Garden. As the boss of the 100% Electronica label, which he runs with his wife and fellow artist Neggy Gemmy, he’s continued to be the torchbearer for this heady realm of music.
I nearly went for 2015’s incredibly nostalgic and pioneering piece of vaporwave, 100% Electronica, but 2018’s Slide has to take the top spot for Clanton’s output in the previous decade. Another absolute masterwork that draws on everything from trip-hop to shoegaze, Clanton’s success in pulling from his mass of influences and pushing them through his distinctive vaporwave prism concisely confirms this as an essential release for microgenres in the 2010s. Furthermore, the songwriting is outstanding, with Clanton’s imagination coursing throughout.
Hyperpop: Pang – Caroline Polachek (2019)
Despite the contested origins of hyperpop and related artists casting doubt upon its value, it simply had to be on the list, with it being the current zeitgeist. As there are so many vital releases in this realm, not to mention in its formative years, it took some time to decide on what should be included, such as the late SOPHIE’s debut studio effort, 2018’s Oil of Every Pearl’s Un-Insides, and Charli XCX’s album from the following year, Charli. Yet, I went for Caroline Polachek’s Pang.
I eventually settled on Pang because it saw Polacheck put her own unique spin on the ostensible microgenre, which I find more compelling and varied than others in this domain, with the American’s voice certainly more accomplished than some of her related artists. From ‘Door’ to ‘So Hot You’re Hurting My Feelings’, it doesn’t take long for the record to resonate and demonstrate why it is a highlight of this space. 2019 was the year that hyperpop came to stay, with Pang having a strong influence on this alongside Charli.
