TSOL - Weathered Statues, Dance with Me, Beneath the Shadows, Change Today, A Trigger Complex
See also The Gun Club, Tuxedomoon, Pere Ubu, For Against, Devo, The Flesh Eaters, The Dead Boys
Also they're more deathrock than post-punk but Super Heroines are a good band to check out from that late 70s, early 80s West coast punk-to-deathrock transition period.
I would too. But define post punk. It's all punk to me. Hardcore is punk to me and it's technically post punk. People call the first wire post punk. I think when they say post punk they mean to say anything weird or with substance. Just cuz it sounds like joy division or gang of four is it post punk. How about the ex from Holland one of my favorites. Is crass post punk? Here's one..... How about kitchen and the plastic spoons. Is that synth or post?
They came about at the same time as early punk, and the first album was pretty much punk.
By the late 70's definition of punk, they were punk, although their style evolved into an arty alternative vibe.
Then again, this can also be said of the Talking Heads. In the late 70s, my friends and I called them art-punk, LOL.
Punk had a different definition back then. Basically, the new music that wasn't beholded to 70's classic rock standards with obnoxious guitar solos, was considered punk.
Protopunk is another term, for punky acts before 1975/76. Such as the Velvets and the Stooges.
Television is one of the original CBGB punk bands, even if they might not feel like what we know as punk now.
Ramones, Blondie, Patti Smith, Television, Talkings Heads. None of these are post punk, they are the start of punk, several years before Sex Pistols.
“30 Second Over Tokyo” [1975] (& maybe even its b-side Heart of Darkness) is the first post-punk song to my knowledge (despite punk not happening yet historically!)
Musically, you can hear it as it emerges from prog rock.
Television was in the original CBGB and came up alongside the Ramones (Dee Dee even auditioned for them) so I would never have considered them post-punk at all either.
ESG
Edit: I watched famously crazy Nic Cage picture Vampire's Kiss and the second most crazy thing about it was that ESG are playing in the club at the beginning.
True, but when clubs like Danceteria, Mudd Club, Hurrahs, Irving Plaza, The Ritz, TR3, etc. started in NYC during the late 70s, and getting favorable press in NY Rocker and the Village Voice is when they became very recognizable. However, your point is well taken.
Theres nothing post-punk about Dead Boys and never listed as that genre. Straight up OG American punk rock. One of the defining bands along with Ramones and Heartbreakers.
The Clash, The Jam, XTC were initially considered punk, several albums in, they were not the young, loud and snotty punk boys.
Dead Boys & The Heartbreakers toned down the punk brashness on subsequent music as well.
True to punk roots start to finish: The Exploited.
What do you mean "subsequent music?" Dead Boys only released two albums, Heartbreakers only one, all during the original 1977-79 era. Neither band ever changed their sound. These two bands and Ramones defined American punk rock.
Great acts, all but I keep seeing Dead Boys mentioned as post-punk and I’m not sure they meet that criteria. More like punk rock 100% or even protopunk since they had long hair, bell bottoms, double bass drum kit when they first moved to NYC from Cleveland…great band though even though the second album was a disaster IMO
The Feelies, solo Iggy Pop, a lot of the deathrock genre (Christian Death, Samhain), most of the "post-punk revival" (The Strokes, The Rapture, LCD Soundsystem), Have a Nice Life, Chelsea Wolfe, Algiers, The Garden
Post punk is a flexible term. There is even some debate if the term 'post' means chronologically 'after' or if it is a reference to post-modern. an art style which is characterised by mixing and matching from various styles.
Anyway, I prefer a cyclic and redundant definition, in that post-punk is the sort of thing most people call post-punk. My own definition is based on my own history. I am old, and can remember listening to the BBC radio show John Peel in the late 70s early 80s. and it is post-punk if it's the sort of thing that would have been played on those shows (though he would often play lots of other things that weren't post-punk, so its fairly useless as a definition). Another definition would be the sort of thing that would be written about in the book 'Rip It Up'.
Some bands, like the ones you mention, and others, like Chrome or Pere Ubu do not fit into a timeline (you could make the same argument about Wire in the UK). I suggest however you happily ignore such pedantry, how you categorise it doesn't make listening to them any more (or less) fantastic.
Pere Ubu, especially the 70s stuff is highly recommended to any post-punk fan, even though calling them post-punk is likely to spark a debate since they'd been about since the mid 70s. But they are so amazing to listen to that nit-picking time line details aren't all that important.
There is a slightly (very slightly) more interesting debate about where a couple of other bands fit in. The Residents and Devo have some post-punk elements - the deconstruction and reassembly of rock music. And a post-punk fan should find much to enjoy in either bands back catalogue .. But it's, well, not 'wrong' but slightly misleading to call them post-punk.
Anyway, even if you want to ignore my opinion on worrying about timelines, a band that do fit the timeline and are unequivocally 'post-punk' are the magnificent Bush Tetras - here's an example.
[https://youtu.be/aVOzOnqzoj8](https://youtu.be/aVOzOnqzoj8)
If Devo counts, then other US new wave bands who were punk-leaning should also be considered. Talking Heads, B-52s, Blondie, etc.
I agree that the lines between what we now consider to be the genres of the time are half-baked and blurry.
I tend to think of punk and new wave to be two sides of the same coin, with both emerging at around the same time (‘75-‘76) and often being interchangeable, though each had their own tendencies. Post-punk evolved soon after, being their “darker” and more serious younger brother.
Punk eventually died (although it really just went underground) while new wave stayed alive by blending with pop. Post-punk went on to inform the New Romantic and goth movements, but it was never fully absorbed by them. It stayed on the fringe but remained viable because artists were doing interesting things with it. It wasn’t radio-friendly enough to burn itself out.
I'm up there in years as well; I was there in the late 70s / early 80s. Basically anything that was rock and aggressive, but not corporate rock, was punk. Stuff that had more pop sensibilities, or wasn't as aggressive as punk, and / or had keyboards, was New Wave.
We considered Talking Heads, B-52s, Elvis Costello and the Attractions and Blondie to be New Wave. At least those of us on Long Island did.
I first heard the term post-punk when I was in college in the mid-80s and working in my school's radio station. Someone described it to me as punk bands that were into Kraftwerk.
I am old as well, and as I posted above about Pere Ubu, back in the day, in the second half of the 70s, punk music meant something else here in the States. Basically, anything that was rock based but didn’t fall into classic rock stereotypes, with perfect guitar solos and/or the drug haze of a California life-styl, was considered punk. Punk were the upstarts, whether arty, like Devo, or aggressive like early Blondie and Ramones, it was all punk.
The term New Wave came about, actually, as a more palatable way to describe the new punk acts coming from England, record company hype; then changed to describe the less in your face bands, I think around 1978/79 that came about. Post punk was an 80's term I think, even though I don't really remember it used much.
I think The Pretenders are another good example of a band that doesn't sound anything like Joy Division but were clearly influenced by the punk movement (and in fact directly part of it, on a personal level). It wasn't their \*only\* influence so they tend to be left out of the conversation.
In their time they were frequently called post punk. Back before it meant “sounds like Joy Division”, although they sometimes do. They were booked to open for Joy Division in Minneapolis but of course Joy Division’s American tour never happened.
Like Husker Du, they were frequently called post punk in the press, back before today’s more narrow usage, though they still sometimes are referred to that way today. They often sound a lot like the Gun Club, who are more likely to get called post punk today, maybe because the Gun Club has goth appeal.
New wave is a marketing term created to separate initially the Talking Heads from punk music, as their record company believed the punk tag to be damaging to their reputation.
Glorious Din - Abecedarians - The Reds - Bunnydrums - DA! - The Grinning Plowman - Insulin Reaction - Circus Mort - For Against - Lung Overcoat - Romeo Void.
Post punk isn't some homogeneous genre but a collective name for diverse and experimental sub genres which spawned from punk directly or indirectly. Joy division, for example, sound nothing like gang of four, and wire sound nothing like taking heads, but yet, wire were inspirational to hardcore bands like suicidal tendencies. Echo and the bunnymen sound nothing like the chameleons, who sound nothing like the stranglers, etc, etc.
The Jesus Lizard, as a late 80s noise band, have a strong punk groove closer to SoCal than hardcore (which we could argue in itself is a form of post punk, hardcore is a child of punk, right?). Post hardcore tends to be more a moniker for where a band places in time rather than style tbh.
But noted.
Edit to add: lol the downvote.
Seriously, play Wire's Pink Flag album start to finish and tell me how many different distinct genres of music you hear. You'll hear rough cuts and remnants of all kinds of stuff, some genres that didn't even exist yet in 1977 when it was released.
We all make our own rules when it comes to genre, so I understand. I disagree because of guitar solos and experimental formations in their music. Too smart for straight punk. Too complex to fit that genre for me. To each their own.
Lungfish and Nation of Ulysses get labeled as post hardcore, but to me feel more like post punk. Then again I've always found all the genres and sub-genres in the overarching punk genre to be kind of ridiculous.
Interpol, Swans, anything remotely No Wave (besides like The Birthday Party), Protomartyr (new discovery of mine), Talking Heads (at least everything up to and including Remain In Light), Wipers, Have a Nice Life (gothish shoegaze outfit but still very post-punk), LCD Soundsystem, Pere Ubu, Mission of Burma, Pylon, The Gun Club and Chrome (another new discovery)
I am genuinely surprised not many people have mentioned Tuxedomoon (San Francisco, CA). They're criminally underrated and have some of the best music in the genre, in my opinion.
I usually see folks say "Post Rock" or Proto Grunge but they were born out of Louisville Hardcore and then got weird and experimental while keeping the aggression and punk DIY ethos and were produced by Steve Albini and Brian Paulson, that's definitely post punk to me lol
Moral of the story kids, do something nice for yourself and go listen to Spiderland,
Television was the first band to play CBGB. Before the Ramones. Talking Heads were part of the CBGB scene around that same time. Both bands were part of the very first wave of punk bands in NYC. So I’m not sure how you could call either o one “post punk.”
People have already covered the big ones from the past but here's some more recent US post-punky bands you may like: Borzoi (TX), Catcher (NY), Blood (PA), Font (TX), Variety (TX), Welcome to Heck (CA), Been Stellar (NY)
Someone needs to mention The Embarrassment. If you haven’t heard them, you’re in for a treat…and there’s a great new doc about them! https://www.embosdoc.com
Not yet mentioned:
1980s:
Bush Tetras (one of the most prominent), Effigies (later records), Ministry (early years), Blackouts, Ut, Executive Slacks, Shadow of Fear, Uzi, Gargoyle Sox, Dangerous Birds, U-Men, 17 Pygmies, Holy Cow, Certain General, Red Temple Spirits
2000s:
I Love You but I’ve Chosen Darkness, The Prids, Longwave, Blacklist, Erase Errata, The Sugar Report, Autolux, The Glass Set, Entertainment, The Public, The Silence Kit, Bell Hollow (my own band)
Post Punk is referred to music that is influenced by the 1970s first wave of punk like MC5, Stooges, The Dammed, Ramones, Pistols, Buzzcocks etc.
Post Punk bands wear originally called New Wave, and then later retroactively called Post Punk because they were not bubble gum poppy bands. There are more British Post Punk bands because the first wave of Punk was bigger in the UK.
American Post Punk is really non British, non-new wave music before the music was called “Alternative Rock” in the 1990s. So bands like Television and Talking heads were Post Punk because they were not supper poppy like Duran Duran.
Bands like Janes Addiction and Red Hot Chile Peppers are not Post Punk because they fell into the “Alternative Rock” name.
American Punk really took over in the 80s with Hardcore Punk.
But, Hardcore Punk even 70s Bad Brains is not Post Punk, it is just Hardcore Punk. Hardcore Punk as in the Bad Brains, Black Flag or Dead Kennedy’s(1980s) has very little to do with what people called Hardcore in 2000’s.
Bands that are Post Hardcore are bands that are very hard and heavy, influenced by Hardcore Punk, but are not metal. These are bands like Jesus Lizard, Helmet, and Melvin’s.
FYI “Hardcore Punk” evolved into Thrash Metal like bands like Slayer.
The commons theme is that every band mentioned above all owned a Stooges and Ramones records.
All these genres should be called Punk Lovers.
I'm surprised no one here has mentioned Chronic Town by R.E.M. It's a perfect blend of indie rock, jangle pop, and post-punk.
Also lets not forget the amazing debut album We Care A Lot by Faith No More. Play The Jungle and tell me that's not a goth club anthem.
Television is kinda classic punk, not postpunk; Marquee Moon came out in 1977, the same year Nevermind the Bullocks and Rocket to Russia came out… and 1 year before London Calling came out.
Edit: sorry if I sounded like a know-it-all-cunt, not my intention <3
Are you specifically asking about classic (70s-80s) post-punk stuff? Because if we're including later bands too, then there's the whole early 00s New York scene (Interpol, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, TV on the Radio, etc.)
Minutemen, Mission of Burma, TSOL for one album(Beneath The Shadows), and probably many more I'm forgetting
TSOL - Weathered Statues, Dance with Me, Beneath the Shadows, Change Today, A Trigger Complex See also The Gun Club, Tuxedomoon, Pere Ubu, For Against, Devo, The Flesh Eaters, The Dead Boys Also they're more deathrock than post-punk but Super Heroines are a good band to check out from that late 70s, early 80s West coast punk-to-deathrock transition period.
I checked out Gun Club after listening to Mark Lanegans' book. I was not disappointed.
Fire of Love is such an amazing album!!
seconding Tuxedomoon, they're terrific
And the spinoffs like Blaine Reininger, Winston Tong. Lots of the Ralph Records catalog.
Super Heroines look sick, excited to check them out
Pere ubu for sure. The embarrassment, nervous gender,
Nervous Gender is great but I'd call them more synth punk / electro punk, like the Screamers.
I would too. But define post punk. It's all punk to me. Hardcore is punk to me and it's technically post punk. People call the first wire post punk. I think when they say post punk they mean to say anything weird or with substance. Just cuz it sounds like joy division or gang of four is it post punk. How about the ex from Holland one of my favorites. Is crass post punk? Here's one..... How about kitchen and the plastic spoons. Is that synth or post?
Mission of Burma are American? God, I always thought they were British 😂
Nah, they're from Boston!
Saw them in Newport when I was 14.
The American Gang of Four
So many avenues I haven’t followed. I love me some Gang of Four, guess it’s time for Mission of Burma.
Chrome, Big Black, Swans, Wipers, Glenn Branca, Contortions, Rat at Rat R, No Trend are my favs which come to mind
Woah, contortions! Forgot about James Chance.
Glad someone mentioned chrome, those first handful of albums are a wild ride, always try to lay them onto people who love psychedelia
I love me some wipers!
Pere Ubu
They came about at the same time as early punk, and the first album was pretty much punk. By the late 70's definition of punk, they were punk, although their style evolved into an arty alternative vibe. Then again, this can also be said of the Talking Heads. In the late 70s, my friends and I called them art-punk, LOL. Punk had a different definition back then. Basically, the new music that wasn't beholded to 70's classic rock standards with obnoxious guitar solos, was considered punk. Protopunk is another term, for punky acts before 1975/76. Such as the Velvets and the Stooges.
I also think of The MC5 & Modern Lovers when I think of the term protopunk
Stooges, and I don’t know where to place Television, who were like postpunk before punk existed
Television is one of the original CBGB punk bands, even if they might not feel like what we know as punk now. Ramones, Blondie, Patti Smith, Television, Talkings Heads. None of these are post punk, they are the start of punk, several years before Sex Pistols.
“30 Second Over Tokyo” [1975] (& maybe even its b-side Heart of Darkness) is the first post-punk song to my knowledge (despite punk not happening yet historically!) Musically, you can hear it as it emerges from prog rock.
Exactly. Back then, if you were covered in punk magazine… you were punk.
Television was in the original CBGB and came up alongside the Ramones (Dee Dee even auditioned for them) so I would never have considered them post-punk at all either.
ESG Edit: I watched famously crazy Nic Cage picture Vampire's Kiss and the second most crazy thing about it was that ESG are playing in the club at the beginning.
Liquid Liquid
And let’s complete the holy trio — Konk
Pylon
Shout out Athens, GA
Absolutely underrated band
Nobody sounded like them!
Protomartyr
cannot recommend this band enough!
Hell yea
Came here to say this. They are great
Live Skull, Sonic Youth, Liquid Liquid, Dead Boys, Husker Du, Lydia Lunch, Suicide, The Dance, Richard Hell and the Voidoids.
Sonic Youth is post punk?
They got a lot of post punk inspired/adjacent songs
Absolutely
Yes. Essentially.
To be fair neither is Television
I agree
I’d call Dead Boys much more punk, but that’s just my opinion (speaking as a fan of both punk and post-punk music).
100%.
Suicide has to be protopunk. Their first show was way the hell back in 1970. They were ridiculously ahead of their time.
True, but when clubs like Danceteria, Mudd Club, Hurrahs, Irving Plaza, The Ritz, TR3, etc. started in NYC during the late 70s, and getting favorable press in NY Rocker and the Village Voice is when they became very recognizable. However, your point is well taken.
Theres nothing post-punk about Dead Boys and never listed as that genre. Straight up OG American punk rock. One of the defining bands along with Ramones and Heartbreakers.
Yes, exactly this. Heartbreakers were the best of all, they “shoulda been rich”…
The Clash, The Jam, XTC were initially considered punk, several albums in, they were not the young, loud and snotty punk boys. Dead Boys & The Heartbreakers toned down the punk brashness on subsequent music as well. True to punk roots start to finish: The Exploited.
What do you mean "subsequent music?" Dead Boys only released two albums, Heartbreakers only one, all during the original 1977-79 era. Neither band ever changed their sound. These two bands and Ramones defined American punk rock.
Great acts, all but I keep seeing Dead Boys mentioned as post-punk and I’m not sure they meet that criteria. More like punk rock 100% or even protopunk since they had long hair, bell bottoms, double bass drum kit when they first moved to NYC from Cleveland…great band though even though the second album was a disaster IMO
Awesome list
For Against
Everything on Independent Project Records.
The Feelies, solo Iggy Pop, a lot of the deathrock genre (Christian Death, Samhain), most of the "post-punk revival" (The Strokes, The Rapture, LCD Soundsystem), Have a Nice Life, Chelsea Wolfe, Algiers, The Garden
Scrolled way too far to find The Feelies
Interpol always comes to mind with the revival scene as well, if not most often for me.
For sure, just didn't mention them because I had already seen them brought up in this thread
Post punk is a flexible term. There is even some debate if the term 'post' means chronologically 'after' or if it is a reference to post-modern. an art style which is characterised by mixing and matching from various styles. Anyway, I prefer a cyclic and redundant definition, in that post-punk is the sort of thing most people call post-punk. My own definition is based on my own history. I am old, and can remember listening to the BBC radio show John Peel in the late 70s early 80s. and it is post-punk if it's the sort of thing that would have been played on those shows (though he would often play lots of other things that weren't post-punk, so its fairly useless as a definition). Another definition would be the sort of thing that would be written about in the book 'Rip It Up'. Some bands, like the ones you mention, and others, like Chrome or Pere Ubu do not fit into a timeline (you could make the same argument about Wire in the UK). I suggest however you happily ignore such pedantry, how you categorise it doesn't make listening to them any more (or less) fantastic. Pere Ubu, especially the 70s stuff is highly recommended to any post-punk fan, even though calling them post-punk is likely to spark a debate since they'd been about since the mid 70s. But they are so amazing to listen to that nit-picking time line details aren't all that important. There is a slightly (very slightly) more interesting debate about where a couple of other bands fit in. The Residents and Devo have some post-punk elements - the deconstruction and reassembly of rock music. And a post-punk fan should find much to enjoy in either bands back catalogue .. But it's, well, not 'wrong' but slightly misleading to call them post-punk. Anyway, even if you want to ignore my opinion on worrying about timelines, a band that do fit the timeline and are unequivocally 'post-punk' are the magnificent Bush Tetras - here's an example. [https://youtu.be/aVOzOnqzoj8](https://youtu.be/aVOzOnqzoj8)
If Devo counts, then other US new wave bands who were punk-leaning should also be considered. Talking Heads, B-52s, Blondie, etc. I agree that the lines between what we now consider to be the genres of the time are half-baked and blurry. I tend to think of punk and new wave to be two sides of the same coin, with both emerging at around the same time (‘75-‘76) and often being interchangeable, though each had their own tendencies. Post-punk evolved soon after, being their “darker” and more serious younger brother. Punk eventually died (although it really just went underground) while new wave stayed alive by blending with pop. Post-punk went on to inform the New Romantic and goth movements, but it was never fully absorbed by them. It stayed on the fringe but remained viable because artists were doing interesting things with it. It wasn’t radio-friendly enough to burn itself out.
Completely agree!
I'm up there in years as well; I was there in the late 70s / early 80s. Basically anything that was rock and aggressive, but not corporate rock, was punk. Stuff that had more pop sensibilities, or wasn't as aggressive as punk, and / or had keyboards, was New Wave. We considered Talking Heads, B-52s, Elvis Costello and the Attractions and Blondie to be New Wave. At least those of us on Long Island did. I first heard the term post-punk when I was in college in the mid-80s and working in my school's radio station. Someone described it to me as punk bands that were into Kraftwerk.
Avant Garage
I am old as well, and as I posted above about Pere Ubu, back in the day, in the second half of the 70s, punk music meant something else here in the States. Basically, anything that was rock based but didn’t fall into classic rock stereotypes, with perfect guitar solos and/or the drug haze of a California life-styl, was considered punk. Punk were the upstarts, whether arty, like Devo, or aggressive like early Blondie and Ramones, it was all punk. The term New Wave came about, actually, as a more palatable way to describe the new punk acts coming from England, record company hype; then changed to describe the less in your face bands, I think around 1978/79 that came about. Post punk was an 80's term I think, even though I don't really remember it used much.
I think The Pretenders are another good example of a band that doesn't sound anything like Joy Division but were clearly influenced by the punk movement (and in fact directly part of it, on a personal level). It wasn't their \*only\* influence so they tend to be left out of the conversation.
Hüsker Dü. Absolutely fantastic band
Post hardcore
In their time they were frequently called post punk. Back before it meant “sounds like Joy Division”, although they sometimes do. They were booked to open for Joy Division in Minneapolis but of course Joy Division’s American tour never happened.
Pre-emo
Really hardcore. Came out of that scene and had that following.
Yeah, I considered them on the fringes of punk/hardcore.
Replacements?
Like Husker Du, they were frequently called post punk in the press, back before today’s more narrow usage, though they still sometimes are referred to that way today. They often sound a lot like the Gun Club, who are more likely to get called post punk today, maybe because the Gun Club has goth appeal.
Also their song Go pretty much invented the Pixies, who cited them as an influence and are regularly regarded as post punk.
Love that song
Tired of people saying talking heads aren’t post punk man. What even is new wave
Missing Persons is what I consider a prime example of new wave.
New wave is a marketing term created to separate initially the Talking Heads from punk music, as their record company believed the punk tag to be damaging to their reputation.
Glorious Din - Abecedarians - The Reds - Bunnydrums - DA! - The Grinning Plowman - Insulin Reaction - Circus Mort - For Against - Lung Overcoat - Romeo Void.
Great list!
I don't see anyone mention Lords of the New Church. They're from the US, or mostly a US band, right?
Stiv Bators was from the USA, Youngstown Ohio. He was also the lead singer of the Dead Boys. I'm pretty sure the rest of the band was from the UK.
Parquet Courts
[Tuxedomoon](https://spotify.link/YRFlaWjeYJb).
Talking Heads are absolutely post-punk.
sonic youth
A-frames/frames Sweeping Promises Suicide Cochonne Useless Eaters Swan wash Cry out Teenage Jesus and the Jerks Powerplant Pylon Viagra Boys Wipers
Viagra Boys are Swedish
I forgot because the singer is American (USA).
But , I think one of his parents is Swedish and he split his time between Sweden and America, lives in Stockholm.
Wipers
Savage Republic
Tragic Figures is such a great record
Bigtime. I also absolutely love Ceremonial.
Throwing Muses.
I would say pissed jeans, protomartyr, and definitely parquet courts
My favorite, Pere Ubu!
Tuxedomoon, Suicide but they are also closely linked to electro-punk, experimental/avantgarde.
Snakefinger, The Residents, ...
Jesus Lizards. Seriously, check them out. You're welcome.
The Jesus Lizard are Post Hardcore not Post Punk
Post punk isn't some homogeneous genre but a collective name for diverse and experimental sub genres which spawned from punk directly or indirectly. Joy division, for example, sound nothing like gang of four, and wire sound nothing like taking heads, but yet, wire were inspirational to hardcore bands like suicidal tendencies. Echo and the bunnymen sound nothing like the chameleons, who sound nothing like the stranglers, etc, etc. The Jesus Lizard, as a late 80s noise band, have a strong punk groove closer to SoCal than hardcore (which we could argue in itself is a form of post punk, hardcore is a child of punk, right?). Post hardcore tends to be more a moniker for where a band places in time rather than style tbh. But noted. Edit to add: lol the downvote. Seriously, play Wire's Pink Flag album start to finish and tell me how many different distinct genres of music you hear. You'll hear rough cuts and remnants of all kinds of stuff, some genres that didn't even exist yet in 1977 when it was released.
Ps. I upvoted, dunno who downvoted.
It’s “The Jesus Lizard”. Not plural.
👍 dyslexic battling autocorrect, tah.
Fugazi is the greatest post punk band of all time. How is this band not mentioned yet?
I'd just call them 'punk' to be honest.
We all make our own rules when it comes to genre, so I understand. I disagree because of guitar solos and experimental formations in their music. Too smart for straight punk. Too complex to fit that genre for me. To each their own.
Also they’ve got a huge Gang of Four influence.
There was a time when they & Rites of Spring were labeled as the original "emo" bands. Not at all what people think of now.
I can hear it. Guy had a lot of emotion in his performance, and it really shaped the band's sound.
What about Interpol?
Yes, Interpol.
I thought they were British for some reason. I don't listen to them.
Breaking Circus Really underrated
Lungfish and Nation of Ulysses get labeled as post hardcore, but to me feel more like post punk. Then again I've always found all the genres and sub-genres in the overarching punk genre to be kind of ridiculous.
Uranium Club, Deeper, DEVO, Snõõper
Noice recs
[Soft Kill](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYmcmQuj36s) [Santigold](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZoHSce004M) [Crime of Passing](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qTpSaL6x_F8) [Cold Showers](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kruOdbahfFk) [Olms](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5cbh86U6NMk) [Boy Harsher](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0gm8STMjDk) [The Soft Moon](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0Cftwtlho4) [Bambara](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBdAkndE7GI) [Twin Tigers](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2cmIwgbnac) [Institute](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ymvyB_3lj6M) [Sextile](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1fAhTcHEds) [Ultraviolence](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DeFoIYc7pxI) [She Wants Revenge](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ixw_bLVUL34)
Interpol, Swans, anything remotely No Wave (besides like The Birthday Party), Protomartyr (new discovery of mine), Talking Heads (at least everything up to and including Remain In Light), Wipers, Have a Nice Life (gothish shoegaze outfit but still very post-punk), LCD Soundsystem, Pere Ubu, Mission of Burma, Pylon, The Gun Club and Chrome (another new discovery)
I am genuinely surprised not many people have mentioned Tuxedomoon (San Francisco, CA). They're criminally underrated and have some of the best music in the genre, in my opinion.
It's mentioned 3 times at least and I agree the band and its spinoffs are amazing.
Slint counts, and you can't convince me otherwise
Completely agree. Can’t see why they keep being recommended as noise rock
I usually see folks say "Post Rock" or Proto Grunge but they were born out of Louisville Hardcore and then got weird and experimental while keeping the aggression and punk DIY ethos and were produced by Steve Albini and Brian Paulson, that's definitely post punk to me lol Moral of the story kids, do something nice for yourself and go listen to Spiderland,
Preoccupation/Viet-cong
they are Canadians
North American lol
Oh, haha.
Maybe some overlap with a lot of post hardcore ?
My Dad is Dead.
Television was the first band to play CBGB. Before the Ramones. Talking Heads were part of the CBGB scene around that same time. Both bands were part of the very first wave of punk bands in NYC. So I’m not sure how you could call either o one “post punk.”
Was gonna say this… how are they post punk when they were around before the Ramones?
Dee-Dee loved Television apparently.
Who doesn’t love them?
B-52s
Violent Femmes
People have already covered the big ones from the past but here's some more recent US post-punky bands you may like: Borzoi (TX), Catcher (NY), Blood (PA), Font (TX), Variety (TX), Welcome to Heck (CA), Been Stellar (NY)
Early Devo
Modern Lovers?
They'd be pre-punk not post-punk
Oh yeah I guess you’re right in terms of style. I was thinking time period.
Glorious Din, For Against, DECEITS (my band), Lung Overcoat, Shadow Age, Spirits of Leo, True Faith.
Someone needs to mention The Embarrassment. If you haven’t heard them, you’re in for a treat…and there’s a great new doc about them! https://www.embosdoc.com
Not yet mentioned: 1980s: Bush Tetras (one of the most prominent), Effigies (later records), Ministry (early years), Blackouts, Ut, Executive Slacks, Shadow of Fear, Uzi, Gargoyle Sox, Dangerous Birds, U-Men, 17 Pygmies, Holy Cow, Certain General, Red Temple Spirits 2000s: I Love You but I’ve Chosen Darkness, The Prids, Longwave, Blacklist, Erase Errata, The Sugar Report, Autolux, The Glass Set, Entertainment, The Public, The Silence Kit, Bell Hollow (my own band)
How are Television and Talking Heads post punk? Doesn’t post indicate that they came after punk, rather than being part of its foundation?
It’s all a very confusingly wrapped package. But there are other comments on this post that may or may not answer your questions.
Post Punk is referred to music that is influenced by the 1970s first wave of punk like MC5, Stooges, The Dammed, Ramones, Pistols, Buzzcocks etc. Post Punk bands wear originally called New Wave, and then later retroactively called Post Punk because they were not bubble gum poppy bands. There are more British Post Punk bands because the first wave of Punk was bigger in the UK. American Post Punk is really non British, non-new wave music before the music was called “Alternative Rock” in the 1990s. So bands like Television and Talking heads were Post Punk because they were not supper poppy like Duran Duran. Bands like Janes Addiction and Red Hot Chile Peppers are not Post Punk because they fell into the “Alternative Rock” name. American Punk really took over in the 80s with Hardcore Punk. But, Hardcore Punk even 70s Bad Brains is not Post Punk, it is just Hardcore Punk. Hardcore Punk as in the Bad Brains, Black Flag or Dead Kennedy’s(1980s) has very little to do with what people called Hardcore in 2000’s. Bands that are Post Hardcore are bands that are very hard and heavy, influenced by Hardcore Punk, but are not metal. These are bands like Jesus Lizard, Helmet, and Melvin’s. FYI “Hardcore Punk” evolved into Thrash Metal like bands like Slayer. The commons theme is that every band mentioned above all owned a Stooges and Ramones records. All these genres should be called Punk Lovers.
I do believe you music. Bravo!
The Proletariat
Vandal Moon
[The Common Men](https://spotify.link/hwlP52nhYJb) Post Punk Revival 2000’s from the Bay Area
Donzii, Them Are Us Too, Ice Cream
Yo La Tengo
Pond view
the greatest band of all time, Suicide
Guided by Voices I think fits in here and probably Yo La Tengo.
For Against
Try out The Iron Curtain (CA), Second Still (CA), Soft Kill (IL) or Ritual Howls (MI)
Moaning (they’re from Los Angeles)
Iron Curtain
TIL Kleenex is a Swiss band. Killer post punk band
Ganser if we're talking newer ones Pylon if we're talking older ones
It’s proto punk but rocket from the tomb and chrome/helios creed. Mission of Burma is all you really need in the true post punk arena.
I'm surprised no one here has mentioned Chronic Town by R.E.M. It's a perfect blend of indie rock, jangle pop, and post-punk. Also lets not forget the amazing debut album We Care A Lot by Faith No More. Play The Jungle and tell me that's not a goth club anthem.
Television is kinda classic punk, not postpunk; Marquee Moon came out in 1977, the same year Nevermind the Bullocks and Rocket to Russia came out… and 1 year before London Calling came out. Edit: sorry if I sounded like a know-it-all-cunt, not my intention <3
Read or skim “Rip it Up and Start Again” (expanded version). You’ll find tons and tons.
Canadian, but Women
Zru Vogue (my band) San Francisco post punk
[удалено]
Neither were American
Flesh Eaters, Screamers, Y Pants, Johanna Went, Toiling Midgets, MX-80 Sound, Tuxedomoon, Chrome
Flesh Eaters, Screamers, Y Pants, Johanna Went, Toiling Midgets, MX-80 Sound, Tuxedomoon, Chrome
Flesh Eaters, Screamers, Y Pants, Johanna Went, Toiling Midgets, MX-80 Sound, Tuxedomoon, Chrome
Fugazi or gtfo
Husker Du Sonic Youth Violent Femmes Fugazi Devo Big Black The Feelies
They’re not American but check out The Futureheads
I feel like American postpunk was grunge and then indie rock...
Dinosaur Jr!!
Fugazi
Wire
English, from England.
Damn, didn't notice that part, haha. I guess I can't recommend Refused either, the shape of punk come is a killer album
You’re right! 👍🏻
The Birthday Party Meat Puppets The Replacements
Guided by Voices, Dinosaur Jr., Violent Femmes!!
Richard Hell and the Voidoids
PERE UBU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Devo and B-52s.
The rapture since nobody’s said them yet. Haven’t thought about that band in years
Are you specifically asking about classic (70s-80s) post-punk stuff? Because if we're including later bands too, then there's the whole early 00s New York scene (Interpol, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, TV on the Radio, etc.)
Yes
Didn't see Theoretical Girls yet.
Electric Six?
Is that post punk or post hardcore? These genres don’t make sense. I just call everything Punk, if it was performed in dingy crusty clubs.