Tag: Post Punk

As you’ve undoubtedly already read elsewhere, and seen all over the chrindie corner of the internet, Michael Knott died earlier this week. Much has been written about the man, the music, the iconic artist, so I don’t intend to re-tread any of that ground here. This is a Song of the Day post after all. Nonetheless it does seem fitting to use this week’s SOTD column to feature more of Knott’s work. He wrote and recorded so many incredible albums from the 1980s through the 2020s that it’s hard to pick a “best” or even a “favorite.”… Continued →

This punk/new wave band from Alaska released one 4-song EP via 7″ vinyl in 1980, entitled Beat the Cynics for their native Unregulated Records. The band was contemporary with other punk acts at the time who had already started shifting their sound to either new wave or post-punk. The Cynics don’t sound too far off from The Buzzcocks, The Clash, The Stranglers, and at times is reminiscent of the funky approach of Ian Dury and the Blockheads. Yes, their sound is remarkably British, considering how far they were geographically from that region.… Continued →

Lugsole was a noisy indie rock band from Birmingham AL with hints of post-punk and emo in their sound. Despite a significant number of releases–both independent and label-issued–they remained a fairly obscure act, whose fans were either music critics or diehard independent music aficionados. Recorded output begins in 1995 and ends in 1998, and in those four short years, they managed to release three cassette demos (two EPs and one full-length), a split 7″ with Dear Ephesus, an EP on compact disc via Daddy-O Records (who also released the first Dear Ephesus recordings), and a 3-way split CD with mainstream acts The Paper Chase and E-Class.… Continued →

British-born poet/artist/performer Steve Scott has been involved in or connected with Christian alternative music since 1983, having emerged from Croydon (South London) via the Bowery (New York City) before winding up in Sacramento, CA with the Exit Records scene there (Seventy Sevens, Charlie Peacock, etc.) where his debut album Love in the Western World was produced by Steven Soles (of Alpha Band fame). His solo work was a gleefully artistic take on new wave and/or post-punk with literate lyrics that pointed to his art school upbringing.… Continued →

Ninety Pound Wuss and UnoriginalVinyl have come together to create a special retrospective Vinyl release featuring songs from all their Tooth & Nail era albums with a gatefold jacket and insert featuring essays by Matt Johnson (Blenderhead/Roadside Monument) and Josh Dies (Showbread). All lyrics have been corrected by Jeff of NPW and will all original new art created in association with UnoriginalVinyl. At last check there was 26 copies left in the Ninety Pound Wuss bandcamp store so get yours like NOW!… Continued →

The Julies have arrived and not a moment too soon. After over 20 years of their absence the returns with a debut record titled “Always & Always” that will release through Lost In Ohio on September 29th. You can pre-order this much anticipated new album right here in beautiful pink vinyl form. The band recently released two singles from this record that you can hear on all digital networks now.… Continued →

A word document popped up in my Dropbox while I was searching for old files. It showed that the tentative line up for the “I’m Your Biggest Fan 2” compilation that I assembled for Tooth & Nail Records on March 11th 2002, 21 years ago. A couple bands had to be swapped for a couple reasons but the final lineup is pretty close to what I had planned out. I have created a little collage video with a couple song samples from the compilation through YouTube which you can view below.… Continued →

Perhaps better known as the bassist/vocalist of hardcore punk cum crossover thrash band The Lead, Nina (full name Nina Llopis) released her debut album No Shadow of Turning for R.E.X. Music in 1991. As my friend and fellow fan Tim “Greybeard” Henderson (ex-Warlord) said, “This is a perfect example of 1991 music!” He’s so right. The album had hints of goth rock/post-punk, alternative rock, and jangle pop–a description which doesn’t make logical sense unless you lived through the early 90s. Musically similar to other early 90s female-fronted alternative bands like The Darling Buds and Concrete Blonde, the effort was a huge departure from her previous material with the hardcore/thrash band from which we’d come to know her.… Continued →

Contrary to what the band name suggests, They Sang as They Slew was not a metal or hardcore band, actually quite far from either. If you hear similarities to the indie rock of Luxury, it’s because half of the band came from Luxury while they were on a break from touring–namely guitarist Jamie Bozeman and bassist Chris Foley (both of whom are Orthodox priests in their day job). I hope some fans recognize the band name from the epic battle scene in Lord of the Rings (the book, not the movie).… Continued →

Lost In Ohio are re-releasing the long lost 3rd album from Fluffy, “Sugar Pistol”, and you can pre-order on Vinyl right here. Check out a fun song video created for the track “My Love” right here at Indie Vision Music (click below this message). The video stars Steve Hindalong who you might recognize from dozens of indie acts of the past several decades (The Choir, Lost Dogs, Lifesavers Underground, The Normals, Dead Artist Syndrome) as well as being a well known producer in his own right.… Continued →

One of my all-time favorite record labels of the indie Christian scene was Blonde Vinyl. Run by Michael Knott (LSU/Lifesavers, and about a dozen others), it was one of the first truly indie, truly alternative record labels focusing on Christian artists. Knott never got rich off of the sales. (A few years later, Brandon Ebel would show us how to make a Christian indie label financially profitable.) Furthermore, not all of the releases on Blonde Vinyl were even that great–I won’t name any names–but all of them were charming in some way.… Continued →

This obscure little band, while relatively unknown, has ties to some more connected acts. They only released one 4-song 12″ EP before breaking up and/or morphing into other acts. The most well-known member was Robert Vaughn, previously of RV and the Hubcaps, and who went on to play with Gloryhouse, Southside Blades of Eden (Broken Records), and most notably Robert Vaughn and the Shadows. RV and the Shadows was essentially the New Presidents line-up with a different name and slightly more mainstream style. Where The New Presidents dabbled in new wave and post-punk, The Shadows went full into power pop.… Continued →

Wonderfully noisy, and delightfully obscure, The Lonely Now only released 3 full-length recordings in their short career: —Captive, 1986, Narrowpath Records (cassette only) —Original Intention, 1987, Narrowpath Records (cassette, LP) —Honest Tear, 1990, Narrowpath/Refuge (cassette only) While all of their releases are somewhat difficult to obtain, ironically their final album–the only one with national distribution through Refuge–is the most difficult. It was released through the same agreement as debuts by The Crucified, Breakfast with Amy, and The Swoon. In fact, founding member Greg Sostrom (AKA Greg Strange) was the owner of Narrowpath Records.… Continued →

The punk rawk family duo known as The Prettybads, just released a brand new song titled “The Watch”. Check out the song below and make sure to buy some merch/digital music right here.… Continued →

Jason Martin is back at it, never ceasing to create and release new music. The new single is called “Sunrise” and is decidedly more upbeat than the recent “Life in Bed.” Perhaps the two work as companion pieces? The 80s post-punk and new wave influences are here again, but filtered through Jason’s shoegaze and indie rock background. Check out the song on your streaming platform of choice. Be sure to download and support the artist where possible. https://starflyer59.bandcamp.com/album/sunrise https://soundcloud.com/velvetblue/starflyer-59-sunrise https://open.spotify.com/track/4o5hLF6WnULrPXFCMzmLH5?si=5ee0b792c04143d1… Continued →

You might be familiar with Sally Grayson’s name due to her collaborations with The Blamed–lending her vocal cords on their cover of the scaterd-few classic “U” (for their Quarantine Days project), or for her contributions to “Away in a Manger” on 2020’s Christmas album. The scaterd-few cover is where I first became familiar with her work. Or you might recognize her from her Ted Talk on creativity (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ia2ldxK2rF0), or as a member of post-punk outfit Black Swift. Or perhaps you’ve been lucky enough to catch her on tour with two other femmes de puissance Tess Wiley (solo/Splendora/Phantasmic/ex-Sixpence None the Richer) and Kat Jones.… Continued →

I first heard L.S.U. in about 1991. I had been a pretty staunch metalhead, but a few alternative rock bands were starting to open me up to new colors in my musical palette. While the experimental This is the Healing was the first album I heard from them, The Grape Prophet is a favorite of fans and critics alike. The album was one of the first and only concept albums, or “rock operas” as band leader Michael Knott liked to call them. The Grape Prophet tells the story of Ellis, an orange picker who works for Col.… Continued →

First things first: I must apologize for missing a couple of weeks on my Song of the Day features. We’ve been in the middle of an international move. Yes, after 13 years of life in the UK, my family and I have returned to the United States! And we’ve been living out of suitcases while we finalize our housing. So do please forgive me for missing a few posts. However, I hope a new song from Starflyer 59 this week can make up for it. The first thing I noticed from the track was the eerie new wave keyboard sounds and quasi-goth guitar leads.… Continued →

Arizona’s No Laughing Matter were kind of a ‘love ’em or hate ’em’ kind of game. Dark and broody, they didn’t fit in with most CCM at the time. Heck, even the alternative stuff wasn’t quite this dark, for the most part. Scott Roman’s dramatic wail was an acquired taste. The guitars alternated between goth-rock and the occasional nod to funk (see “Helltown”). Of particular interest were the deep bass grooves. They were one of Christian music’s very few, true “post-punk” bands in the proper sense of the term.… Continued →

I’m not sure how most IVM readers feel about new wave and synth-driven music. It’s extremely nostalgic for me, having grown up in the 80s. The 1980s also comprised the decade where contemporary Christian music came into its own as a marketable industry. While you could argue the merits of that, or against them, it’s a simple fact. But where there is ‘progress’ or marketability (read: money), there will also always be an undercurrent–an independent protest against the mainstream. Marc Plainguet–and his alter egos Gadget and Crazed Bunnyz–were spearheading lo-fi and experimental synth-driven music in the underground tape-trading scene.… Continued →

The worldwide release of The Prettybads / What’s Your Damage? “Split” happens today. Make sure you grab the digital files from our Bandcamp page here or from any other digital platform. CD’s are also up for pre-order via our Storenvy page right here. To find on Spotify just type in the band name then scroll down to “Appears on” and go through the compilations till you find the “Split”.… Continued →

Indie Vision Music is proud to announce the long awaited “Split” release by two powerful, female fronted punk groups – The Prettybads & What’s Your Damage?. The “Split” album drops on September 1st through all digital platforms, bandcamp, and on CD. I will have some CDs for sale in the IVM store soon. Check out one song from each band below and preorder digital right here. Visit the band’s bandcamp stores here & here to order direct. Listen to “Jessica” by The Prettybads and “Dividing Lines” by What’s Your Damage?,… Continued →

I first heard of Cross-Check a few months ago through social media channels. Shortly thereafter, I was asked to review their mini-album Overwhelming Odds for Heaven’s Metal. What I found on that release equally excited and bewildered me. The band has a way of weaving some very interesting and somewhat disparate influences into their sound. While they clearly take as their foundation a traditionalist line of old school hardcore, they manage to weave such diverse sounds as street punk, post-punk, rockabilly, and occasionally even surf rock.… Continued →

Along with L.S.U. and the Altar Boys, another band that was really influential in getting me into alternative music (as opposed to straight metal and thrash of my teenage years) was Breakfast with Amy. Their debut album had enough punk rock influence to appeal to that side of me that wanted noise and aggression, but there was more to their sound than just loud, fast, and angry. There were also these weird, angular, noisy expressions and interesting metaphors about the faith that I wasn’t hearing anywhere else.… Continued →

I suppose that the first time you hear a band forever affects the way you think or feel about them. Although Undercover already had a long history behind them when I first heard them in 1990, I was completely unaware of it. I didn’t know the huge impact they’d made in the Christian alternative and punk scene in SoCal through Calvary Chapel, Ministry Resource Center, etc. through groundbreaking albums like God Rules and Branded. They had already morphed from a bubblegum-punk/new wave sound to darker, post-punk tones across the span of 4 albums.… Continued →

L.S. Underground (AKA LSU, L.S.U. LifeSavers Underground, Lifesavers, Lifesavors) have been doing alternative music in various forms since the early 80s. “The Grape Prophet,” originally released on Blonde Vinyl in 1992 was a concept album full of nuance and metaphor representing a young man’s journey looking into what was deemed a potentially dangerous Christian cult. Dark and brooding, the album has often been hailed as the band’s magnum opus. The original release is tremendously difficult to obtain, in large part because a vast shipment of units got somehow lost in transit.… Continued →

Another great example of early Christian punk/post-punk/new wave from the UK is Writz. They released one album in 1979 that would rival anything from the early CBGB’s scene, or even the stuff coming out of London or Manchester at the time. The band would later morph into the alter-egos of Techno Twins, The Techno Orchestra and the Technos, all of which pursued a sophisticated synth-pop sound. For my money though, Writz is where it’s at. Check out “Night Nurse” here. The song can often be found on 7″ for a reasonable price via online sales venues.… Continued →

Over the past 2-3 years, I’ve been discovering a bunch of old Christian punk, post-punk, and new wave that I didn’t know existed. One of the best examples is a short-lived band from the south coast of England called Crowd Control. I only know of one track they recorded, which can be found on the excellent “Shots in the Dark” compilation. The album features other UK-based punk, new wave, and ska tracks. “There are Houses” is brilliant. It’s dark, brooding, true post-punk with enough keyboards to keep things interesting.… Continued →

Bryan Gray of The Blamed also played and led the side project “Left Out” throughout the mid to late 90’s and released several, much loved classics during that time. Members of The Blamed also played on some of these recordings and live as well. Check out all 5 of the releases available right here and download digitally. Could more music be on the horizon? Speaking of The Blamed, the new album “The Church is Hurting People” is out on October 18th through ALL digital markets and stores.… Continued →

I don’t suspect many of our readers will be familiar with What of the Night, which is a shame. This Irish & English punk band released only one album in 1979 (yes, you read that right!) making them the earliest Christian punk band (if we don’t include Death, which is a discussion for another time). The LP features post-punk, mod, and garage rock sounds and would be at home next to the likes of The Undertones, The Jam, Buzzcocks and so many others. It’s super rare and hard to come by, but I managed to track down a copy for myself a couple of years ago.… Continued →