Post-Punk / New Wave / Synth Rock
familyStarted 1977Peak 1979-1985Last big hit still active
The angular, electronic-leaning aftermath of punk: trebly basslines, brittle guitars, drum machines and synthesizers reframed as lead instruments. Ranges from danceable, hook-forward new wave to bleak post-punk dread, icy synth rock, and the gothic, cold and minimal undergrounds. Studio-as-instrument, art-school detachment, machine pulse.
History
Born from punk's collapse around 1977-78, bands kept punk's energy but traded its three-chord blueprint for dub space, funk syncopation and Krautrock repetition. UK labels (Factory, Mute, Rough Trade) and NYC's downtown scene drove it; cheap synths and drum machines reshaped rock. By the mid-80s it splintered into goth, synth-pop, indie and dance, seeding decades of revival.
Defining artists
Essential listening
Sources
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post-punk
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_wave_music
- Simon Reynolds, Rip It Up and Start Again: Postpunk 1978-1984
- https://www.allmusic.com/style/post-punk-ma0000002706