Post-punk lived and died in the 80s, right? Not according to Bristol noiseniks NAUT. Basing their sound on the likes of Killing Joke, Siouxsie And The Banshees, The Sisters Of Mercy et al, the five-piece draw plenty of inspiration from the genre's past. But to fixate solely on that, the band say, is to miss out on a wealth of new music coming from the scene's next wave of artists.
"In 2008, I felt post-punk was more or less dead," says NAUT bassist Andi Effe. "There were a few bands knocking about but they felt few and far between.
"Fast forward to today, and there’s been a resurgence in this genre. There are new bands, new people and for the first time in a long time it feels exciting to be a fan of this genre. When people talk about post-punk they tend to focus on the 80s and ignore more recent releases, which is a real shame given there are a significant number of new bands out there who are very active within the scene. It's one of the many reasons that I’m glad to be playing in a post-punk band right now."
Here, Effe takes us through the 10 best post-punk songs to have been released in the last five years.
10) Desperate Journalist - Resolution (Grow Up, 2017)
"This must have one of the catchiest choruses I’ve heard in a long time, and it’s delivered by one of my favourite vocalists of recent years. If you haven’t checked Desperate Journalist out, you can’t go wrong with this."
9) Agnes Circle - Porcelain (Some Vague Desire, 2016)
"The Agnes Circle seem to have been inactive since releasing this album, but the guitar tone here is by far one of my favourite and it serves to give this track a distinctly dreamy feel."
8) Black Marble - Collene (It’s Immaterial, 2016)
"Black Marble are an interesting band – their sound is so very different to anything I’ve heard before, and when I first heard this track I instantly fell in love with it. It evokes these beautiful, nostalgic feelings that nothing else really has before."
7) Rendez Vous - Workout (Distance, 2016)
"This song is relentless from start to finish. Such raw energy can be difficult to capture on a recording, but Rendez Vous have managed it perfectly with this."
6) Beastmilk - Genocidal Crush (Climax, 2013)
"I swear when Climax came out it was recommended to me by about five people within a day, I could see why after I gave it a listen. It’s pretty difficult for me to choose my favourite from this album, but I think Genocidal Crush just edges the others out."
5) ACTORS - Slaves (It Will Come To You, 2018)
"ACTORS' first album came out earlier this year and this is definitely my favourite offering. Driving bass lines, rhythmic drums and a big chorus, there’s not much more you can ask for from a song."
4) She Past Away - Katarsis (Narin Yalnizlik, 2015)
"She Past Away seemed to come out of nowhere for me and now they’re everywhere. This track is from their last album and it is sublime but I am hoping that we’ll be hearing more from them soon."
3) The KVB - Never Enough (Of Desire, 2016)
"Formed in 2010, The KVB are another brilliant example of a modern post-punk band that clearly take a lot of influence from the giants of the genre but put their own spin on the music they create. Never Enough is a great example of this, combining wailing guitar lines and pulsating synth sounds but with a sound that is different to what has come before it."
2) Soft Kill - Whirl (Choke, 2016)
"The first time I heard the opening synth line of this song followed by the melancholy guitar I felt chills. Soft Kill’s last two albums are two of the best that modern post-punk has to offer and Whirl is one of the best tracks. It’s simplistic but has a level of emotional depth to it that I find difficult to describe."
1) Drab Majesty - Dot In The Sky (The Demonstration, 2017)
"Drab Majesty’s second album, The Demonstration, was released in 2017 and it’s full of tracks that I can only describe as instant classics. The dream-like guitar drenched in delay and the 80-esque synths hit me like a truck and I was instantly in love. Dot In The Sky really captures that eighties feel but still feels like it brings something new to the table."
NAUT have recently released their debut EP Raise The Lights, which you can listen to now. Check out the video for new single Disintegration below.
