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Twee pop

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This article is about the genre of music. For the adjective, see "twee".

Twee pop is a type of indie pop that is known for simple, sweet melodies and lyrics, often combined with jangling guitars. While groups in this style had existed previously, twee pop was first recognised as a distinct genre in 1986, when a number of these bands, including Shop Assistants, Primal Scream and The Pastels, emerged simultaneously, and were showcased on C86, a compilation released by mail-order through New Musical Express (see 1986 in music).

While the roots of the genre can be traced back to groups of the late 1960s like The Byrds and The Lovin' Spoonful, the clearest influence on twee pop comes from Post-Punk artists of the late 1970s and early 1980s who mixed a do-it-yourself approach with a rejection of chest-beating rock machismo - especially Orange Juice, Television Personalities and Jonathan Richman. Twee pop bands who use 'buzzsaw' rather than jangling guitars, such as Shonen Knife and the Beatnik Termites, tend also to be influenced by Buzzcocks and The Ramones.

In the United Kingdom, where twee pop was most popular, Sarah Records became home to most of the bands in the field. In the United States, the movement was championed by K Records of Olympia, Washington.

Although 'twee pop' is a widely accepted term for this style of music it did not come into use until the 1990s. In the 1980s 'twee' bands were simply described as 'indie' or 'shambling', the latter term coined by DJ John Peel, who originally applied it to a session by the group Bogshed.

Though Belle & Sebastian have been described as a twee pop band, this is a description the band has rejected.

The term has been rejected and then adopted by many of the bands whose sound has been described this way. This has spawned inside jokes like the T-shirts that read "Twee as Fuck" or "Twee Fucker".

A more punk-influenced, North American variant of twee pop is also sometimes referred to as cuddlecore.

List of twee pop bands