10 Bands that Are Leading Post-Punk's Third Wave

Your Guide to the Post-Punk Revival

At the close of the 1970s, when early punk acts like the Sex Pistols were disbanding and the first cries of "punk is dead," began to exude from the underground, bands who embraced the punk aesthetic but not its stringent minimalism, began to step outside of its all too confining constructs.

This new genre harnessed the angst-fueled energy of punk, but diversified it with new rhythmic approaches and more complex guitar work, and thus post-punk was born.Often described as "angular" or "jagged" post-punk was a new artsy approach to the fiery punk movement. Three chords were no longer enough to create a song, and it wasn't necessary to play as fast as possible anymore. Instead bands began to experiment with different tempos, textures, and song writing formulas.

Punk was being fused with everything from synth music, disco, and pop, to hardcore, dub, and noise. In the late 70s and early 80s bands like Gang of Four, Wire, and Joy Division in the UK along with The Talking Heads, Mission of Burma, and The Modern Lovers in the US were forging a new movement that showed that musical prowess and songwriting could indeed be combined with the�raw energy of punk rock.

In the late 80s a second wave of post-punk bands arrived. This time they sprang out of the politically charged�DC hardcore scene. Again, bands were looking for a way to expand their aggressive sound and acts like Fugazi, Nation of Ulysses, and Jawbox lead the way. These groups drew less on the groove and pop of the first wave, and more on noise, hardcore, and experimental rock influences. Post-punk was now not only a reaction to the limitations of punk, but also the limitations of hardcore.

Within the past year or two the calling card of post-punk has been dropped into popular culture once more. Whether it is dancey rhythms thrown into fuzzed out rock songs, or choppy riffing mixed into a driving punk tune, post-punk is back with a third wave. From MTV2 to the underground basement circuit, bands are running the energy of punk head on into experimentation that is diverse in both melodic and heavy ways.