Rolling Post-Punk Thread

Hrm, so Dekoder released an album, but are only streaming a track and not selling it on Bandcamp, Amazon or anywhere else. No label, no info on RYM, Allmusic, Wiki, etc. Good times!

Write em a letter!

Ştiu Nu Ştiu

appear to be some unsigned kids from Sweden, doing post punkish stuff on the heavier side, almost dipping into metal (their upcoming album is I think mixed by Kurt Ballou)

"Ultra Silvam" was a dark horse favorite of mine last year

https://stiunustiu.bandcamp.com/track/ultra-silvam-2

check out "Borta" too

Heh, I did! The page is misleading in that "Pleasure" is not an album, but a teaser for Flowers To Blossom not due out until May on Chaos Rurale. You can, however, get their first album, Between The Waking And The Dying (2012) for $5:

http://chaosruralerecords.bandcamp.com/album/between-the-waking-and-the-dying

kylesa - ultraviolet

my favorite post-punkish album of 2013 by some margin.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VlbC-hk25Aw

Listened to Ava Luna. Eh, they're just ok--Gang of 4 guitars on first cut, Dirty Projectors vocals on some cuts.

It came out early last year and I'd sort of forgotten about it by the time the year-end lists started appearing, but I was reminded this morning how much I liked Crime & the City Solution's comeback - American Twilight. Not exactly in line with the type of post-punk represented by a lot of the above but I don't know what else you'd call it.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/u8kpy15K14k?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Let's try that again.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8kpy15K14k

Dot Dash - Half​-​Remembered Dream (Beautiful Music, 2013) - D.C. band with former members of bands including Julie Ocean, Swervedriver, Youth Brigade, Velocity Girl, etc. Their third album.
http://dotdashdc.bandcamp.com/album/half-remembered-dream

Feeding Fingers - The Occupant (Tephramedia, 2013) - Formed in U.S. in 2006, relocated to Salzburg, Austria. Fourth album.
http://feedingfingers.bandcamp.com/album/the-occupant-2

Eagulls - Eagulls (Partisan, 2014) - Leeds band has been getting attention earlier this spring. EP here, and full-length on Spotify etc.
http://derangedrecords.bandcamp.com/album/eagulls
http://open.spotify.com/album/74KGur0bkIgnKWP2IXCe0g

Cosmic Thoughts - Cosmic Thoughts (2014) - UK post-punk, debut out May 5
http://cosmicthoughts.bandcamp.com/album/cosmic-thoughts

hardly a big deal but i don't think any of dot dash were in velocity girl

also does anyone else feel the eagulls album isn't quite as amazing as the buzz around them would have you believe? it's not bad but far from special

I saw Beastmilk was touring with this band. This is good stuff, how did it not come up earlier in this thread? Help me out here!

Cold In Berlin - And Yet (Candlelight, 2012)
Cold In Berlin - Give Me Walls (2010)
https://coldinberlin.bandcamp.com/album/give-me-walls

Lower - Seek Warmer Climes (Matador, 2014) - New release from Danish band.
http://www.cmj.com/reviews/lower-seek-warmer-climes/

Protomartyr - Under Color Of Official Right (Hardly Art, 2014) - From Detroit, last album was promising, this hasn't made much an impression yet, need to relisten.
http://protomartyr.bandcamp.com/releases

Total Control - Typical System (Iron Lung)
http://hengebeat.bandcamp.com/album/typical-system

Dan Selzer faves from Melbourne released their new album this week! MTVIggy recommends "for fans of Tubeway Army, The Chameleons, Magazine, Merchandise." You can also vote for them as artist of week - http://www.mtviggy.com/blog-posts/artist-of-the-week-vote-for-your-favorite-9/. The album is kind of all over the place and even less focused than Henge Beat (2011), but from their synth punk ("Glass") to Fall/Kraut drones ("Black Spring"), it all works. I forgot to mention before they also have a great collection of singles from Feb '13 on Bandcamp - http://hengebeat.bandcamp.com/album/7s

These are popular on RYM, and are worth hearing but I'm not all that impressed:

Have A Nice Life - The Unnatural World (Enemies List)
Die Nerven - Fun (Fin Du Monde/This Charming Man)
Cheveu - BUM (Born Bad)
Criminal Code - No Device (Deranged)
Sleaford Mods - Divide And Exit (Harbinger)

Sleaford Mods is especially grating in a barking, hectoring sort of way. I haven't heard these yet:

Earthbeat - Be Forest (We Were Never Being Boring)
Post War Glamour Girls - Pink Fur (HSR)

I haven't checked lately, but that Have A Nice Life album spent the first several months of 2014 in top 5 albums for the year so far at RYM.

It's #29 now. It's okay, but I much prefer Cosmic Thoughts, for example, which for some reason isn't even in RYM.

Earthbeat - Be Forest (We Were Never Being Boring)

straight-up dreampop/shoegaze

I really enjoyed the doomy, post-apocalyptic intensity of Beastmilk's Climax, and am getting into the fire and brimstone of Wovenhand. Anyone got similar recs?

has anyone mentioned Ought?

Ought - More Than Any Other Day
http://ought.bandcamp.com/album/more-than-any-other-day-2

I listened to it along with the batch of stuff on the RYM list, but forgot to list it. I like it more than the others on my last post, but am on the fence about the vocalist. Mostly good associations with early, shambling Raincoats and Clinic.

ooooh. I love comparisons with Clinic and the Raincoats.* I listened to a song from the last Suuns album that kinda reminded me of classic Clinic...

(*there's no modern band out there that reminds me of the Raincoats as much as Brute Heart, but my favorite album of theirs, Lonely Hunter, was 2011. Their last album, a soundtrack for The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, was much more psych-oriented instrumental music)

- oh and the Cheveu album wasn't that good?

- lots of talk about the last OOIOO album, Gamel. I haven't given it a listen yet but from what I read, that's prob would work v well in this context.

I listened to a song from the last Suuns album that kinda reminded me of classic Clinic

ha pretty much EVERY suuns song reminds me of clinic

Cheveu just didn't get me excited on first listen. I'm sure some would like 'em and perhaps will grow on me. Hear for yrselves! I'd been way into OOIOO at one point, but gamelan music was probably the last thing I wanted to hear from them. It's okay I guess, but if I have some gamelan albums if (big if) I ever crave some again.

http://theflenser.bandcamp.com/album/the-unnatural-world
http://shop.bornbadrecords.net/album/bum
http://criminalcode.bandcamp.com/album/no-device
http://wwnbb.bandcamp.com/album/wwnbb-051-earthbeat
http://postwarglamourgirls.com/album/pink-fur

Mode Moderne - Occult Delight (Light Organ) - Vancouver jangly pop heavily influenced by Smiths, Interpol, etc. This could irritate some, but its grown on me, particularly tracks 6-8. Their first album was self-released in '09.
http://modemoderne.bandcamp.com/album/occult-delight

The New Christs - Incantations (Impedance) - Melbourne post-punk garage featuring Rob Younger of Celibate Rifles, New Race, Radio Birdman. They've been going since 1980! This is their first since Gloria (2009), and appear to get better with age.
http://thenewchrists.bandcamp.com/album/incantations

The Sea Kings – Woke In The Devil’s Arms (Iffy Folk) - Scottish band with diverse debut full length, only a few songs can be described as post-punk, but it's too great not to mention. Review: I just about lost my mind when I first heard the lead single from Glasgow’s The Sea Kings’ debut album. “Bible John” sounds like a long-lost single from 1984, a supergroup collaboration between The Smiths and Postcard groups like Aztec Camera, The Go Betweens and Josef K. Despite its celebratory ebullience, it’s actually a sinister tale about the 1960s Glasgow Barrowland killer. That’s pretty much the band’s m.o., tales about horrible things. Nick Cave would approve. The title track that kicks off the album is especially indebted to Cave, and also underrated Australian band The Triffids. Dark, heavy and brooding, it’s a magnificent start to the album. “Moonlit Range” is a plodding death waltz that made me wonder when they were going to pick up the tempo again. It turns out nothing else on the album remotely resembles “Bible John.” After adjusting expectations, the album’s brilliance spreads through you like the warm burn of a double Scotch. “The Night Of Broken Glass” takes place in 30s Germany where a young man fatally attempts to defect. “Is Paris Burning” has some particularly evocative imagery as a tragic love note from a jail cell. The band citing writer Alasdair Gray as an influence turns out to be no joke. These are truly literary songs. The album ends with another highlight, “Across The Coals,” a ghostly murder ballad with Ennio Morricone undertones and strings, like The Dirty Three with an excellent lyricist. You’d think the arrival of a colossal talent like this would call for some fanfare, but eh, it’s 2014 and everyone has their heads up their arses in their own particular micro scenes. Had I not been on the lookout for something like this for a while I might have missed it too, just as I missed their first Some Dark Matters EP (Iffy Folk, 2010). But if one catchy riff is enough to fuel a decade plus career for Interpol (“Say Hello To The Angels”), hopefully “Bible John” can bring similar attention to this well-deserving band. | Amazon | iTunes | CD (Europe only)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FlyT9yNuDIE&feature=youtu.be

been enjoying the mode moderne for a while, it's not at the top of the heap for that sound but i like their laidback take on it

http://sharktoys.bandcamp.com/

Total Control - Typical System (Iron Lung)

Really got on a New Christs kick, listening to their whole catalog. Reviewed it with the second Hits album, a Brisbane band, treads similar territory of post-punk and garage noir.

Hits – Hikikomori (Conquest Of Noise)
http://fastnbulbous.com/new-christs-incantations-hits-hikikomori/

Just finished listening to Merchandise - After The End, which is out officially next week. More in a new wave/synth/jangle pop direction, which would be fine, but am a bit disappointed by the quality of songs.

Ausmuteants, Low Life, Dreamsalon, Protomartyr, Whore Paint, Cured Pink, Flesh World, Rat Columns, Die Schacht.... Weird how the new Total Control isn't in any stores here in NYC other than Rough Trade. Album comes with a bonus radio-show cd. This Brazilian band Rakta looks promising, but maybe more guitar-noise than post-punk.

I'm going to see Yvette tonight.

http://fastnbulbous.com/post-punk-rundown/

I haven't written as much as I'd like, job prevents me from staying up all night. Dangling Interpol review as lure/gateway to other bands, ha. This one came out in January (Germany) and May, and is new to me and this thread:

The Estranged – The Estranged (Sabotage/Dirtnap)
This Portland band started out with a pretty great set of singles, collected on Type Foundry Session Vol. 1 (2009). It’s rough hewn post-punk with relentlessly scorching guitars informed by local legends The Wipers, and maybe a touch of Aussie influences in Radio Birdman. The singles were much more electrifying than their first album Static Thoughts (2008), which has them taste-testing a variety of 1978-82 era material from Wire, The Cure and Gang Of Four, while The Subliminal Man (2010) saw the band, whose members have roots in hardcore punk, expanding their range to include The Chameleons and a bit of jangly pop. Four years later they’re sounding better than ever on their self-titled third, growing into their own skins and shedding more obvious characteristics of their influences. So not so much angular UK post-punk, and more hard-edged garage rock along the lines of the latest from The New Christs and Hits I recently raved about. The band has tightened up, and while there is still some rawness in the guitar sound, the playing is cleaner and more focused, with an extra layer of complexity that lends to more rewarding repeat listens. Keith Testerman’s drumming is relentlessly propulsive like Anton Fier’s work in The Feelies. At times he could use a touch of the flamboyance of the likes of Echo & the Bunnymen’s Pete de Freitas. But couldn’t everyone? Mark Herman’s vocals remain understated, preferring to blend in with the music rather than parade in front of it like, oh, Simple Minds after they started losing the plot in ’83, or a million other bands that try too hard. Rather, they sound like a band that’s been at it for several years and are simply letting it flow.

http://dirtnaprecords.bandcamp.com/album/estranged-the-s-t
https://sabotagerecords.bandcamp.com/album/the-estranged-type-foundry-session-vol-1

http://backseatmafia.com/2014/11/06/featured-artist-the-gluts/
https://thegluts.bandcamp.com/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4x-AZW1ouA#t=53

Dark Blue - Pure Reality (Jade Tree) - This is quickly climbing up my year-end list to the point where I like it nearly as much as last year's great Beastmilk album, along similar hard-hitting lines. I bought the CD and added the single via Bandcamp dl, "Just Another Night With The Boys," which is essential. John Cale cover is good too.
https://darkblueskins.bandcamp.com/album/pure-reality
https://darkblueskins.bandcamp.com/album/just-another-night-with-the-boys

Cult Of Youth - Final Days (Sacred Bones) - Neo-folk, gothy darkwave, expands their palate. I hear a bit of Savage Republic this time, but also some more tuneful parts on their fourth album.

So any of these making your year-end lists this year?

Have A Nice Life and Makthaverskan will be on mine.

makthaverskan ii is an incredible record

Yeah it's great, but that came out March 2013.

true tho the US version was 2014

Girl Band are notably absent from this 2014 roundup. "Lawman" was IMO the best post-punk single this year.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nqxe3NZKYL0

The new Dreamsalon, Iceage, Miami Dolphins, Institute

Thanks! I include EPs, but so far Girl Band only had singles this year. I thought Desperate Journalist would have an album this year, but they also just did a single.

Dreamsalon - Soft Stab
https://dreamsalon.bandcamp.com/

The Miami Dolphins - Becky
https://themiamidolphins.bandcamp.com/album/becky

Institute - Salt EP
http://www.sacredbonesrecords.com/products/sbr119-institute-salt-ep

Universe People - Are Coming To The Dance - Promising trio from Seattle, a bit of Liliput & Sleater-Kinney influence.
https://universepeople-bonjour.bandcamp.com/

Stiu nu Stiu - ULTRA SILVAM; mentioned an early song or two from these guys upthread, and their first full album has sneakily become an underdog favorite this year. Swedish band playing a kind of heavy post-punk not totally unlike Beastmilk (and Kurt Ballou mixed this too) but incorporating more doom influence.

https://stiunustiu.bandcamp.com/album/ultra-silvam

more mopey and atmospheric than Beastmilk too

really digging the new albums from hozac alumni population & schonwald, seem to fit in here

https://population.bandcamp.com/album/beyond-the-pale
https://anywave.bandcamp.com/album/dream-for-the-fall

Thanks for turning me onto Makthaverskan II, guys. They're not nearly as "anti"-pop as they protest, but that's fine. Makes me think of The Clean and John Cale's song "Ski Patrol," although with wailing young vocals and ready elbows.

Interesting, who has been mentioning Stiu nu Stiu as favorites? This is the first time I've seen them mentioned, and I regularly scour the blogs. I checked again and saw I missed this review in June - http://echoesanddust.com/2014/06/stiu-nu-stiu-ultra-silvam/

that was me, and yeah they don't seem to have gotten much coverage yet; I only discovered them at the end of last year when on a whim I tried to catalog all of Kurt Ballou's 2013 production and mixing work.

that review is pretty positive! it doesn't even mention post-punk and while I definitely hear that I agree it is reductive as there are post rock, drone, metal and even dream pop influences too

Thanks for reminding me that this is out! I will listen and report back.

The first song didn't grab me but now that I'm almost through the album I am completely sold. Will buy.

phormerly known as

In other news I nought the first Ought album from Discogs today. That is probably the most immediate thing theyve done. I could put together a very good Ought/Cola best of though

Xp not sure why my brain reached for "previously known as" when FKA was just there

I'm really loving the new Cola

technically cola is phormer members of ought

Yeah, true. I wouldn't say there's a significant shift in style other than Cola are a bit more stripped back (Ought were far from maximalists in the first place)

The two Ought albums I have (Sun Coming Down and Room Inside the World) are quite different from each other, so it's hard to generalize. Sun Coming Down rocks harder - Room Inside the World is more transitional, experimental. Cola kind of splits the difference - the arrangements are more stripped down, like Sun Coming Down, but the vibe is more rainy-day afternoon daydream, which tends to appeal to me - hints of mid-period Chastity Belt or early Smiths.

True. The first album is my fave of those three. I couldn't really handle Sun Coming Down due to dude's decision to do a bad Mark E Smith impression through most of it but I hope to come back to it some day. Room Inside This World is the outlier of all their work as it's a bit more lush, more instruments - goes into orchestral or synth pop occasionally. "Desire" is possibly my favourite song by them, along with "Habit". Cola sounds more like the first two Ought albums.

Sounds like I need to check out that first album. Not sure why I haven't before.

...but I think Crime maybe steal this video.
--dan selzer

i quite like the new cola album - there isn't really a standout track but it's very consistent and their chords/melodies are always interesting. really good bass player.