: rock music that incorporates elements of traditional or classical music
Examples of art-rock in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
In the five years since, Geese has emerged as a new beacon of post-punk, mutating into an ambitious art-rock experiment across three albums.
—
Jillian Steinhauer, New Yorker, 14 Nov. 2025
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
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
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.
Jillian Steinhauer, New Yorker, 14 Nov. 2025
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
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
Cite this Entry
“Art-rock.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/art-rock. Accessed 1 Dec. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share