BY: Elliot Novak

Post-punk is probably my favorite genre, which tells you all you need to know about how pretentious I am as a music fan. Whenever someone asks me for a post-punk recommendation, further clarification is always required. I would wager that at least 75% of the time someone asks me for a post-punk recommendation, it results in me going into excruciating detail about the origins of the genre and why I have such a strange love for it. I've decided to compile some albums I think work as a well-rounded essentials list to the genre as well as an abridged introduction to a genre I absolutely adore.

The term “post-punk” as a genre descriptor is fascinating to me because of just how broad it truly is. For example, let's look at three arguably very different bands. I've never heard someone say that “Pictures of You” from The Cure's Disintegration could pass as a song of Double Nickels on the Dime by Minutemen. And neither bands' sound could be mistaken for the indisputable quirkiness featured on Talking Heads' Remain in Light. But somehow, all three of these albums can be referred to (correctly) as post-punk??? What is this madness? If albums sound wildly different, how dare they be categorized as the same genre?

Now, your gut response could be, “maybe it's because all of the albums came out after the primary punk scenes fizzled out? That would explain the inclusion of the ‘post-' right Elliot? That has to be it” I fully understand that conclusion and would agree with you if not for a puzzling and odd conundrum. I present to you, Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables by Dead Kennedys and Marquee Moon by Television. 1,302 days separate these two albums, one punk, one post-punk. However, the album you may (understandably) assume to be the predecessor is not by Dead Kennedys. Marquee Moon predates one of the most iconic punk albums by over three years and yet, is hailed as one of the most revered post-punk albums of the 20th century. Release date holds practically no influence over whether or not an album is considered post-punk, which feels strangely blasphemous to me. However, the key component that ties the world of post-punk is found in the driving melodies found in the instrumentals. Whether it be in the mystifying ambiance of Bauhaus or the swelling rhythms of Black Country, New Road, the experimentation evolving from the traditional punk rock sounds is present in virtually every post-punk release.

For ease of choice, I've divided my list of post-punk album recommendations into the three primary categories: Certified Yappers, Goth-adjacent and Quirked Up. Before all you music elitists come at me for not including enough obscure albums on this list, I want this compilation to serve as a jumping off point for anyone that wants to dip their toes into the genre of post-punk.

Certified Yappers

“Certified Yappers” refers to the more talky vein of post-punk. One that often seems to prioritize the lyrical content rather than the manner in which the lyrics are delivered. I would argue that this is probably the closest in sound to the original more minimalist punk bands as Certified Yapper bands tend to omit the atmospheric feel many post-punk bands of the late 1970s and 80 integrate into their sound in favor of an almost frantic delivery

Television, Marquee Moon 

Highlight Track: “See No Evil”

This album could very well fit into the “Quirked Up” category especially the back half of the album, but Tom Verlaine's vocal delivery will forever be ingrained in my memory and that qualifies it to be a yapper album in my eyes and my heart.

Minutemen, Double Nickels on the Dime

Highlight Track: “Do You Want New Wave or Do You Want the Truth?”

This album is insanely long and some may say that 45 songs that all clock in at under three minutes (seriously, the longest song is exactly three minutes and the shortest one is a mere 51 seconds) but if you're looking for a quintessential talky post-punk album, this is your guy.

The Present Age, Avenues of Widespread Consumption

Highlight Track: “Juncture”

One of the best post-punk albums of recent years, the lyricism on Avenues of Widespread Consumption is wonderfully dry and vocalist Logan Lamers' delivery makes me want to buy a megaphone. Shoutout Oshkosh, Wisconsin.

Gang of Four, Entertainment!

Highlight Track: “Not Great Men”

One of the groovier albums in this category, Entertainment! scratches some itch in my brain every time I listen to it.

Goth-adjacent

“Goth-adjacent” includes, you guessed it, post-punk bands that I would not be surprised in the slightest to hear in a goth rave DJ set. A majority of these albums include an almost orchestral element in their execution, a perfect soundtrack to either dance slowly to or to cry on the floor in the dark to. Though some of the bands on this list probably wouldn't consider themselves to be goth, many of them have been claimed by the greater goth community.

Bauhaus, In the Flat Field

Highlight Track: “In the Flat Field”

This album shines a light on the talent of Bauhaus beyond “Bela Lugosi's Dead,” one of the integral gothic rock post-punk albums out there. Plus Peter Murphy is one of my favorite goth vocalists, like, ever. 

Have A Nice Life, Deathconsciousness

Highlight Track: “Holy Fucking Shit: 40,000”

Sad, ominous and bleak, this album has it all. Plus there's some awesome song titles, I don't know how a song that mentions a big worm has the ability to make me cry but it sure does.

The Cure, Songs of a Lost World

Highlight Track: “Endsong”

I could've put every album in The Cure's discography on this list and they would've fit perfectly, however, their most recent release feels like the perfect introduction to the realm of “gothy” post-punk even if RYM doesn't officially count this as post-punk.

Italia 90, Living Human Treasure

Highlight Track: “Cut”

This could fit into both “Goth-adjacent” and “Certified Yapper” depending on which songs you hone in on but the opening track “Cut” feels like it's straight out of an 80s goth montage and I am a huge fan of the vibe curated throughout.

Quirked Up

“Quirked Up” is probably the whimsical classification of post-punk, at least in terms of instrumentation. Often referred to as art-punk, dance-punk, new wave or even egg-punk by RYM users, these albums often feature up-beat and energetic instrumentation. 

Talking Heads, Stop Making Sense

Highlight Track: “Girlfriend Is Better”

Ok this one is probably cheating because it includes basically all of my favorite Talking Heads songs and also an incredible Tom Tom Club song and a solo David Byrne track but this is my album recommendation list and I get to make the rules!

Stuck, Freak Frequency

Highlight Track: “Break the Arc”

Another one of the best post-punk albums from the last five years, I simply had to slip some more Midwest post-punk into this list.

XTC, Black Sea

Highlight Track: “Rocket From A Bottle”

You've probably heard the masterpiece that is XTC's “Senses Working Overtime,” but English Settlement's predecessor Black Sea is very nearly as quirky as the album that followed while also including shockingly upbeat songs about nuclear war and destruction.

shame, Food for Worms

Highlight Track: “Different Person”

Another album that could exist in either “Quirked Up” or “Certified Yappers,” the funny noises included on this one bring it above and beyond, one of my personal favorite releases from 2023.

Honorable Mentions:

Black Country, New Road, Ants From Up There

The Cure, Seventeen Seconds

Protomartyr, Relatives in Descent

The Psychedelic Furs, Forever Now

Model/Actriz, Dogsbody

Gilla Band, Most Normal

Dry Cleaning, Stumpwork