The Dream Syndicate

While most of the groups on the Paisley Underground scene of the 1980s were informed by psychedelia or roots rock, the Dream Syndicate adored the wordplay and energy of Bob Dylan and the noisy guitars and bracing darkness of the Velvet Underground. Leader Steve Wynn's initial influences were clear, but his songwriting soon developed a voice of its own. After 1982's stark, nervy The Days of Wine and Roses, they crafted a darker, ambitious follow-up, 1984's Medicine Show. 1986's Out of the Grey. 1988's Ghost Stories favored a stripped-down, wiry attack as the group was winding down. With 2017's How Did I Find Myself Here?, Wynn introduced a new Dream Syndicate dominated by strong guitars and literate songwriting as well as an experimental bent that dovetailed into psychedelia on 2019's These Times and revealed ambient and prog influences on 2022's Ultraviolet Battle Hymns and True Confessions.