: rock music that incorporates elements of traditional or classical music
Examples of art-rock in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
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.
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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
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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
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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