[Sattelight]

I feel like this forum needs a post punk discussion thread. I recently began getting into the genre (sparked by my interest in Talking Heads) and have found a vast amount of amazing music (Gang of Four, Joy Division, The Psychedelic Furs etc.) I'd be interested to hear from others about your favorite post punk/ new wave bands or albums. Post punk and new wave as genres are defined by their diversity so I don't want this thread to be too restrictive; If you have something that maybe wouldn't be strictly defined as post punk/ new wave but has some of those influences i'd love to hear about it. 
 
If you are unfamiliar with post punk and want to see (hear) what it's all about, a few albums I would strongly recommend are:
 
Unknown Pleasures - Joy division
Entertainment! - Gang of Four
Talking Heads 77 - Talking Heads
Pink Flag - Wire
Marquee Moon - Television
Real Life - Magazine
Waiting for a Miracle - Comsat Angels
Psychedelic Furs - Psychedelic Furs
Turn on the Bright Lights - Interpol
Head over Heals - Cocteau Twins
 
Each of these albums bring a something a little different to the table but all are great albums in my opinion.
 
So what are some of your favorites?

 

[ferday]

Don't forget The Cure!

Blondie was in there too...

I think new wave is the broadest genre ever. Some really great stuff...and some of the worst music ever made ha ha ha

 

[Sattelight]

The only Cure CD I had in my collection for a long time was Disintegration and then I got Boys Don't Cry. I was a bit shocked at how different they sounded at first but Boys Don't Cry is easily one of my favorite albums now. Need to get some more of the Cure's works.
 
Not familiar with Blondie (outside of hearing One way or Another on the radio) but I actually have Parallel Lines on the way. I have pretty high expectations based on the reviews I've seen.
 
I agree that new wave is a really broad genre. I love that about it though. Often times when I get a new CD, I have no clue what I'm getting into and that can make for a really fun experience. The Raincoats come to mind...

 

[TexasBuck]

  I feel like this forum needs a post punk discussion thread. I recently began getting into the genre (sparked by my interest in Talking Heads) and have found a vast amount of amazing music (Gang of Four, Joy Division, The Psychedelic Furs etc.) I'd be interested to hear from others about your favorite post punk/ new wave bands or albums. Post punk and new wave as genres are defined by their diversity so I don't want this thread to be too restrictive; If you have something that maybe wouldn't be strictly defined as post punk/ new wave but has some of those influences i'd love to hear about it. 
 
If you are unfamiliar with post punk and want to see (hear) what it's all about, a few albums I would strongly recommend are:
 
Unknown Pleasures - Joy division
Entertainment! - Gang of Four
Talking Heads 77 - Talking Heads
Pink Flag - Wire
Marquee Moon - Television
Real Life - Magazine
Waiting for a Miracle - Comsat Angels
Psychedelic Furs - Psychedelic Furs
Turn on the Bright Lights - Interpol
Head over Heals - Cocteau Twins
 
Each of these albums bring a something a little different to the table but all are great albums in my opinion.
 
So what are some of your favorites?

Great thread!  Thanks for the heads up on Magazine and Comsat Angels.  I was not familiar with them.
 
Interpol and Joy Division are high on my list of favorite groups.  Post Punk is certainly my favorite sub-genre.
 
A few more of my post punk favorites:
 
R.E.M. - Murmur
Echo and the Bunnymen - Crocodiles 
Siouxsie & The Banshees - Juju
The Chameleon UK - Script of the Bridge
The Cure - Pornography

 

[Sattelight]

Don't forget The Cure!

Just got and listened to Seventeen Seconds. I probably liked it even more than Boys Don't Cry. Really fantastic album
 

  Great thread!  Thanks for the heads up on Magazine and Comsat Angels.  I was not familiar with them.
 
Interpol and Joy Division are high on my list of favorite groups.  Post Punk is certainly my favorite sub-genre.
 
A few more of my post punk favorites:
 
R.E.M. - Murmur
Echo and the Bunnymen - Crocodiles 
Siouxsie & The Banshees - Juju
The Chameleon UK - Script of the Bridge
The Cure - Pornography

Crocodiles is such a good album. Hadn't heard any of Echo's albums other than Ocean Rain before this. Looking forward to Heaven up Here
I checked out Murmur and thought it was impressive. I enjoyed it much more than Green which was the only previous REM record I had heard
My initial impression of Script of the Bridge was very positive. I feel like it may take a couple listens to fully appreciate the album though
I wasn't the biggest fan of Siouxsie & the Banshees when I heard them a few months ago. I'll check out Juju when I get a chance
 
I'm curious if you have a preference between Unknown Pleasure and Closer. They're both probably in my top 10 or so with Closer having the slight edge

 

[TexasBuck]

  Just got and listened to Seventeen Seconds. I probably liked it even more than Boys Don't Cry. Really fantastic album
 
Crocodiles is such a good album. Hadn't heard any of Echo's albums other than Ocean Rain before this. Looking forward to Heaven up Here
I checked out Murmur and thought it was impressive. I enjoyed it much more than Green which was the only previous REM record I had heard
My initial impression of Script of the Bridge was very positive. I feel like it may take a couple listens to fully appreciate the album though
I wasn't the biggest fan of Siouxsie & the Banshees when I heard them a few months ago. I'll check out Juju when I get a chance
 
I'm curious if you have a preference between Unknown Pleasure and Closer. They're both probably in my top 10 or so with Closer having the slight edge

"Murmur" is my favorite album ever, with the darker "Fables of the Reconstruction" close behind.
 
I've always preferred "Closer" to "Unknown Pleasure", although the gap has narrowed for me over the last couple years.  Both are fantastic.  If you haven't heard New Order's "Movement", you should check it out.  It has a lot of the same feel to it as "Unknown Pleasures" and "Closer".
 
A more recent band to check out is "DIIV".  Their debut album "Oshin" is probably my favorite album of 2012.  They certainly have a big Cure influence to them.  I get sick of music really fast but this is one I never seem to get tired of. 

 

[ferday]

I'm by no stretch a big fan of the genre in general, but the stuff I like I really really like. Definitely prefer the dark wave / post punk to the really heavy synth material of the 80's. Oddly I just can't get into joy division

REM is awesome! although I'm a bigger fan of their later, more mainstream stuff IMO they didn't release a bad album. Another good one in the more post punk vein is the Pretenders, I'm a big fan. And of course Devo, impossible not to enjoy the quirkiness. I like a lot of cyndi Lauper, she never got enough credit for some great songwriting. And depeche mode simply rock!

And some of my favorite bands of all time were kind of pre-new wave like velvet underground/Lou reed, even the ramones, Elvis Costello and New York dolls were kind of pre-post-punk. And my favorite female singer/songwriter ever, Chelsea Wolfe, is heavily influenced by new wave/dark wave

 

[limpidglitch]

Fad Gadget, or anything of that early Mute sound.
Lo-fi, cold, dark, borderline industrial.
 

 
(there's also an excellent BBC documentary on this period in music, available on YouTube, called Synth Britannia)

 

[Sattelight]

  "Murmur" is my favorite album ever, with the darker "Fables of the Reconstruction" close behind.
 
A more recent band to check out is "DIV".  Their debut album "Oshin" is probably my favorite album of 2012.  They certainly have a big Cure influence to them.  I get sick of music really fast but this is one I never seem to get tired of. 

Wow. I enjoyed it but I don't think it would be in my top tier of albums. I'm listening to it again right now though and I'm thoroughly enjoying it. Maybe it's one of those albums that takes a few listens to truly appreciate?
 
I checked out that Oshin album on beats music. Really good stuff. I loved the album artwork too
 

And some of my favorite bands of all time were kind of pre-new wave like velvet underground/Lou reed, even the ramones, Elvis Costello and New York dolls were kind of pre-post-punk. And my favorite female singer/songwriter ever, Chelsea Wolfe, is heavily influenced by new wave/dark wave

Velvet Underground is on my "to-do" list but I have listened to the debut albums of The Ramones, Costello, and New York Dolls and they are some of my favorite albums. Especially New York Dolls. I also listened to a few songs by Chelsea Wolfe. Impressive

 

[thescientist]

  I feel like this forum needs a post punk discussion thread. I recently began getting into the genre (sparked by my interest in Talking Heads) and have found a vast amount of amazing music (Gang of Four, Joy Division, The Psychedelic Furs etc.) I'd be interested to hear from others about your favorite post punk/ new wave bands or albums. Post punk and new wave as genres are defined by their diversity so I don't want this thread to be too restrictive; If you have something that maybe wouldn't be strictly defined as post punk/ new wave but has some of those influences i'd love to hear about it. 
 
If you are unfamiliar with post punk and want to see (hear) what it's all about, a few albums I would strongly recommend are:
 
Unknown Pleasures - Joy division
Entertainment! - Gang of Four
Talking Heads 77 - Talking Heads
Pink Flag - Wire
Marquee Moon - Television
Real Life - Magazine
Waiting for a Miracle - Comsat Angels
Psychedelic Furs - Psychedelic Furs
Turn on the Bright Lights - Interpol
Head over Heals - Cocteau Twins
 
Each of these albums bring a something a little different to the table but all are great albums in my opinion.
 
So what are some of your favorites?

Long time lurker on these forums, but after seeing this list I couldn't help but want to chime in. This is a great list of recommendations (particularly for the inclusion of Comsat Angels who are too often overlooked), and I have a few additional suggestions:
Jeopardy - The Sound (see in particular the track 'missiles')
Playing with a different sex - The Au Pairs (including the wonderful Bowie cover 'repetition')
Deceit - This Heat

 

[TexasBuck]

  Long time lurker on these forums, but after seeing this list I couldn't help but want to chime in. This is a great list of recommendations (particularly for the inclusion of Comsat Angels who are too often overlooked), and I have a few additional suggestions:
Jeopardy - The Sound (see in particular the track 'missiles')
Playing with a different sex - The Au Pairs (including the wonderful Bowie cover 'repetition')
Deceit - This Heat

I'm not familiar with any of the 3 bands.  I gave them all a quick preview.  "The Sound" stood out the most to me. (Probably because they sounded similar to Joy Division/Echo and the Bunnymen to me)  "This Heat" was certainly interesting but not as immediately accessible as "The Sound" was.  I'll be on the look out for opportunities to add "The Sound" to my collection.

 

[Sattelight]

  Long time lurker on these forums, but after seeing this list I couldn't help but want to chime in. This is a great list of recommendations (particularly for the inclusion of Comsat Angels who are too often overlooked), and I have a few additional suggestions:
Jeopardy - The Sound (see in particular the track 'missiles')
Playing with a different sex - The Au Pairs (including the wonderful Bowie cover 'repetition')
Deceit - This Heat

Jeopardy is a very good album and Missiles is such an interesting song to me. Dark and eerie with such a simple, powerful chorus. Really makes you think. 
 
Playing With a Different Sex: I actually have the remaster of this album but from just listening to the first song I could tell two things. 1 is that this was clearly going to be a very good album. 2 is that this album underwent significant compression during the remastering process. Checking on the dynamic range database ( http://dr.loudness-war.info ) confirmed my second point so I have since held off listening to that album, waiting to get a copy of the original CD instead. Unfortunately these are rare and expensive so I am currently just keeping my eye out for a copy at a decent price.  
 
The same situation as above sort of played out for me with This Heat as well. The original CDs can be pretty pricey. I recently was able to get a copy of This Heat but I have not yet acquired Deceit. I have only listened through it once so far (I like to put a decent amount of space in between each listening of an album so that it stays fresh) but I know that it is a special album. When I put it on, I felt like Dorothy having been plucked out of my familiar world and being dropped into a completely new and foreign one where anything is possible. It almost seemed like This Heat had some special powers that allowed them to transcend the Laws of Music, as if the same laws of physics that applies to everybody else simply didn't exist for them. Obviously I'm being quite profuse with my praise and further listening may change my opinion somewhat but listening to that album was one of the greatest musical experiences of my life. Like being at the top of the mountain so to speak. Obviously music is a very personal and subjective experience so I wouldn't expect others to necessarily feel the same. What's crazy is that, from what I understand, most people prefer Deceit to This Heat. Hopefully I'll be able to get a copy sometime soonish (luckily I have plenty of great albums to keep me occupied until then) 

 

[limpidglitch]

The Sound, Au Pairs and This Heat, great stuff.

This Heat is definitely a bit less accessible than the other two, but it really is worth it to stick with.
If the Sound struck a chord, then maybe Josef K could be a hit? Yet another british post-punk group from the early eighties.
Also The Units, from San Fran. One of the States' very first synth-punk bands, but also fairly new-wavey.
If the lighter tone of Au Pairs seemed more like it, might also Raincoats do? Very enigmatic music, polyrhythmic, playful. (and then maybe X-Ray Spex? that sax, and brilliant Poly Styrene!) Delta 5 were also pretty cool. Hard-hitting drums and great hooks. And Young Marble Giants, yet another female fronted post-punk outfit. These from Cardiff, and only lasted a couple of years at the end of the seventies, but made brilliant music, amongst other things a session with John Peel. Oh, and Suburban Lawns. Much of the same really, except they were from Long Beach, got that Californian twang. What can I say? Three or four shy guys with a girl up front, playing up-beat post-punk. It was a thing, and it worked pretty well.
I still can't help myself promoting the darker stuff, like Bauhaus, Killing Joke, Deutsch Amerikanische Freundschaft and Severed Heads, for starters.

 

[thescientist]

 
Jeopardy is a very good album and Missiles is such an interesting song to me. Dark and eerie with such a simple, powerful chorus. Really makes you think. 
 
 
The same situation as above sort of played out for me with This Heat as well. The original CDs can be pretty pricey. I recently was able to get a copy of This Heat but I have not yet acquired Deceit. I have only listened through it once so far (I like to put a decent amount of space in between each listening of an album so that it stays fresh) but I know that it is a special album. When I put it on, I felt like Dorothy having been plucked out of my familiar world and being dropped into a completely new and foreign one where anything is possible. It almost seemed like This Heat had some special powers that allowed them to transcend the Laws of Music, as if the same laws of physics that applies to everybody else simply didn't exist for them. Obviously I'm being quite profuse with my praise and further listening may change my opinion somewhat but listening to that album was one of the greatest musical experiences of my life. Like being at the top of the mountain so to speak. Obviously music is a very personal and subjective experience so I wouldn't expect others to necessarily feel the same. What's crazy is that, from what I understand, most people prefer Deceit to This Heat. Hopefully I'll be able to get a copy sometime soonish (luckily I have plenty of great albums to keep me occupied until then) 

 
It's great to hear such a transformative response to a This Heat album. Personally, I was very musically immature the first time I listened to Deceit, so my initial response was "What the hell is this?".... as was my second, third, fourth, fifth, etc. response. After listening to it almost non-stop for a period of days it occurred to me that it was simply music that was so good it was beyond my comprehension. I was actually lucky enough to pick up the 'Out of Cold Storage' boxed set when it came out, which is a fairly definitive collection of their works. It looks like people are selling it on the Amazon Marketplace for as low as ~$70 - well worth it for 3 albums and an EP. I'm not exactly an audiophile (hence why I usually lurk) but it sure sounded better to me than what I'd been listening to before. 
 
Also one thing I love about a lot of these post punk bands (in particular The Sound, Comsats, Joy Division) is how probing a lot of the music can be while actually coming from a very mundane place. For example, I really think quite a few of the more colorful songs from The Sound are really little more than Adrian Borland using music to describe his mental illness. Likewise, I'm fairly sure 'Interzone' by Joy Division is a fairly literal account of walking around Macclesfield.

 

[Sattelight]

Originally Posted by limpidglitch /img/forum/go_quote.gif
 
The Sound, Au Pairs and This Heat, great stuff.

This Heat is definitely a bit less accessible than the other two, but it really is worth it to stick with.
If the Sound struck a chord, then maybe Josef K could be a hit? Yet another british post-punk group from the early eighties.
Also The Units, from San Fran. One of the States' very first synth-punk bands, but also fairly new-wavey.
If the lighter tone of Au Pairs seemed more like it, might also Raincoats do? Very enigmatic music, polyrhythmic, playful. (and then maybe X-Ray Spex? that sax, and brilliant Poly Styrene!) Delta 5 were also pretty cool. Hard-hitting drums and great hooks. And Young Marble Giants, yet another female fronted post-punk outfit. These from Cardiff, and only lasted a couple of years at the end of the seventies, but made brilliant music, amongst other things a session with John Peel. Oh, and Suburban Lawns. Much of the same really, except they were from Long Beach, got that Californian twang. What can I say? Three or four shy guys with a girl up front, playing up-beat post-punk. It was a thing, and it worked pretty well.
I still can't help myself promoting the darker stuff, like Bauhaus, Killing Joke, Deutsch Amerikanische Freundschaft and Severed Heads, for starters.

I'm not familiar with most of these bands so I'll have to start checking them out. The Raincoats took me a few listens to really get in to it but it is a very good album. 
 
I've listened to the first couple Killing Joke albums and am definitely a fan. I got their first album years ago before I was really into post punk because of Metallica's cover of "The Wait" and while I wasn't sure what to make of it at first, it has become an album that I really enjoy and it will always have a special place in my heart. More recently I got their second album and I think it is probably superior to the first. It's a little more subtle and the songwriting seems a little more sophisticated. "Madness" is a crazy awesome song. 
 
I've been planning to check out Young Marble Giants for a while now. Need to get on that. Thanks for all the suggestions!
 

   
It's great to hear such a transformative response to a This Heat album. Personally, I was very musically immature the first time I listened to Deceit, so my initial response was "What the hell is this?".... as was my second, third, fourth, fifth, etc. response. After listening to it almost non-stop for a period of days it occurred to me that it was simply music that was so good it was beyond my comprehension. I was actually lucky enough to pick up the 'Out of Cold Storage' boxed set when it came out, which is a fairly definitive collection of their works. It looks like people are selling it on the Amazon Marketplace for as low as ~$70 - well worth it for 3 albums and an EP. I'm not exactly an audiophile (hence why I usually lurk) but it sure sounded better to me than what I'd been listening to before. 
 
Also one thing I love about a lot of these post punk bands (in particular The Sound, Comsats, Joy Division) is how probing a lot of the music can be while actually coming from a very mundane place. For example, I really think quite a few of the more colorful songs from The Sound are really little more than Adrian Borland using music to describe his mental illness. Likewise, I'm fairly sure 'Interzone' by Joy Division is a fairly literal account of walking around Macclesfield.

I'm curious as to what you were listening to beforehand (spotify, youtube, internet rip, orignal cd, etc?)
 
I've definitely had that experiences where I'd listen to something and think "What is this???" and then after a few more listens I realize "WOW this is amazing." And there are some albums that simply require a few listens to truly appreciate the album. This was the case for me with Closer. I was pretty much obsessed with Unknown Pleasures and I was so excited to hear Closer and I came away extremely disappointed after the first listen. I enjoyed the album more and more with each time afterwards and it's now one of my top three albums of all-time.