Post-Punk
Noah’s Barks pages relating to the post-punk music genre.
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The Chameleons – “What Does Anything Mean? Basically”
The second album by the post-punk outfit, The Chameleons, is a storm of swirling guitars and ethereal angst. This melancholic beauty that does not compromise intensity would define the band’s sound and place within the post-punk movement. (read more)
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The Wake – “Assembly” (2002)
Oi, The Wake tricked me with Assembly, so this review is dedicated to the other five fans of The Wake. The compilation Assembly ostensibly has five unreleased songs, but it’s actually two. “Rise and Shine” is a demo of “Sail Through.” “Make You Understand” is “World of Her Own.” “The Calendar” is “Torn Calendar.” They’re… (read more)
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The Damned – “The Black Album”
What a fucking cool album cover. It’s like an emblem you’d see emblazoned on the front gate of Dracula’s castle. The Black Album is a certain curiosity in The Damned’s discography, as the group are almost entirely known for their earlier simple “brat punk” albums, but they broke out of that stereotype more and more… (read more)
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Preoccupations – “Viet Cong” (2015)
Preoccupations understands the disenfranchised coldness of late ’70s and early ’80s post-punk very well, which proves they’re great listeners. But their unrelenting attachment to it makes their sound inflexible, and the interesting personality quirks that the original, experimental scene brought out aren’t audible in Viet Cong—and that’s the real strength of post-punk. Viet Cong is… (read more)
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Mission of Burma – “Forget” (1987)
Forget is a collection of pre-Vs. Mission of Burma demos. Raw and unrefined, yet appropriately so, making further evident Mission of Burma’s roots in punk, specifically of the hardcore variety. The average song tempo here is much faster than most anything on Vs. (think “How I Escaped My Certain Fate”), and vocals adopt the common hardcore… (read more)
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Mission of Burma – “Mission of Burma” (1988)
As a compilation, I can’t leverage much of a complaint about this self-titled release. Here we get Vs. and Signals, Calls, and Marches, Mission of Burma‘s two best releases on one CD alongside other rarities. The one odd flaw with this is that the B-side of Academy Fight Song, “Max Ernst,” is inexplicably absent. All the more annoying… (read more)
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The Sisters of Mercy – “The Reptile House E.P.” (1983)
“Kiss the Carpet” and “Lights” are your brooding post-punk taken to an extreme, trudging along at a pace that would make a snail seem exciting. They lack the intriguing menace and subtle hooks of The Sisters of Mercy‘s album material to keep attention, and they quickly fade from memory despite seeming to go on forever.… (read more)
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Lizzy Mercier Descloux – “Press Color” (1979)
Lizzy Mercier Descloux’s classy, lounge-esque vocals on “Tumour” coupled with its perverse, post-punk guitars imitating saxophones it an indisputable highlight. Press Color is generally not energizing enough to be a great dance-punk album, and doesn’t go far enough into no wave territory to be endearingly abrasive. The combination of two genres known for their energy… (read more)
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Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – “Tender Prey”
My favorite Nick Cave album, "Tender Prey" rocks the gallows. (read more)
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New Order – “Movement” (1981)
Movement is generally considered to be New Order’s awkward era, of a time when the band didn’t know where to head after Joy Division and instead repeated the sound of their previous band. I find this to be a sizable exaggeration bordering on misnomer. Movement can be divided into three elements: 1. The ghost of… (read more)