Atmospheric rock is a genre of music which, as the name implies, incorporates atmospheric elements in a conventional rock setting. It is in many ways comparable to post-rock (many atmospheric rock bands are mislabeled as post-rock), but atmospheric rock bands tend to place less emphasis on minimalism and textural experimentation, instead focusing more on melody and sudden contrasts in dynamics and timbre.

There is no cohesive atmospheric rock "scene," nor is there any strict, uniform approach to the genre, but many of bands, such as Maybeshewill, And So I Watched You from Afar and Red Sparowes do have comparable sounds.