Essential Paisley Underground

In the early '80s, California bands rode a wave of jangly guitars, with one pointy boot in garage rock and the other tapping away with psychedelic fervour. The chiming six-strings and keening vocals of The Three O'Clock prompted the phrase “Paisley Underground.” Others put their own spin on the trippy, tuneful genre—The Dream Syndicate's wiry, Velvet Underground-inspired rock; Green On Red's organ-based sound and jumpy vocals; The Rain Parade's Byrds-ian sparkle. Many groups broke up by the late '80s, but The Bangles endured long after “The Real World” and “Getting out of Hand”, songs that fused girl-group buoyancy with power-pop sparkle.