Post-Punk / No Wave
Post-Punk / No Wave is what happened when punk's permission structure exploded outward: angular guitars, dub bass, funk rhythm, synths, art-school tension, anti-rock repetition and noise that rejected rock professionalism from different directions. Post-punk stretched punk into atmosphere, politics, dance and abstraction; No Wave stripped it into confrontation and refusal. The family is unified less by one sound than by a shared belief that punk had opened a door, not defined a rulebook.
History
In the UK, Public Image Ltd, Gang of Four, Joy Division, The Pop Group, The Fall and Wire rebuilt punk with dub, funk, electronics and theory. In New York, DNA, Teenage Jesus and the Jerks, Mars, James Chance and Swans pushed No Wave toward abrasion, downtown art and anti-commercial extremity. The afterlife is enormous: goth, industrial, dance-punk, noise rock, post-hardcore, indie rock and post-punk revival all borrow from this break with straight punk.
Defining artists
Essential listening
Sources
- post-punk histories
- No New York liner histories
- AllMusic post-punk and no wave overviews
- Rip It Up and Start Again