Gothic rock is a subgenre of rock music that relies heavily on typically "goth" themes of melancholy and dark romanticism. The style first emerged out of the U.K. in the late 1970s and early 1980s, when post-punk artists such as Siouxsie and the Banshees and The Cure began taking their music in darker directions. Common features of gothic rock include the use of echo and reverb, "twangy" guitars, synths, and lush, layered instrumentation with theatrical tendencies.