: rock music that incorporates elements of traditional or classical music
art-rocker noun

Examples of art-rock in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Long available only as a bootleg, the cult art-rock band’s last studio recording gets a new digital and vinyl release from Errol’s Hot Wax Life Without Buildings, the beloved Glaswegian art-rock band, broke up in 2002 after the release of their sole, classic album, Any Other City. Jazz Monroe, Pitchfork, 9 Oct. 2025 Across his numerous albums outside the band, Byrne has continued to expand a lively art-rock palette. Jane Bua, New Yorker, 19 Sep. 2025 In 2024, his side project the Smile — with Radiohead guitarist Jonny Greenwood and jazz drummer Tom Skinner — put out two dazzling albums of crinkly art-rock, Wall of Eyes and Cutouts. Jon Dolan, Rolling Stone, 9 May 2025 Sleek dance-pop grooves but also classicist balladry, fey art-rock, and drag-amenable camp all play crucial but disparate parts. Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 11 Mar. 2025 On the way: indie-folk songwriter Lissie (Sunday, May 18), Philly rockers Low Cut Connie (Tuesday, Sep. 30), and art-rock virtuoso Destroyer (Sunday, Oct. 19). David Hudnall, Kansas City Star, 7 Mar. 2025 Her fragile integrity plays interestingly against the star casting of Lee Pace as the affected art-rock god leading Maestro’s character into an cosmic puzzle. Guy Lodge, Variety, 21 Feb. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1968, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of art-rock was in 1968

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Cite this Entry

“Art-rock.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/art-rock. Accessed 16 Oct. 2025.

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