20. Fire Engines “Get Up and Use Me” (1981)
Uh oh, looks like some punks have gotten their hands on a copy of Trout Mask Replica. Scottish art-rockers Fire Engines found their sound by grafting turbulent punk rock onto jerky Beefheartian counterpoint.
19. For Against “Autocrat” (1987)
Did you know there was cool music coming out of Nebraska back when Conor Oberst was in short pants? If you didn’t know better, you’d swear this forlorn song with brooding lyrics, frosty bass and shimmering guitar must’ve been dreamt up in some disused Manchester mill rehearsal space.
18. Echo And The Bunnymen “Pictures on My Wall” (1980)
Though they eventually softened up enough to wind up on the Pretty in Pink soundtrack, early on, the Bunnymen were offering up eerie tracks like this one from their debut, which is driven by a haunted synth and Ian McCulloch’s syrupy Jim-Morrison-by-way-of-Lou-Reed crooning.
17. Au Pairs “You” (1979)
Au Pairs laid the building blocks for riot grrrl way back in the late ’70s. Their first record is a collection of pissed-off feminist polemic, which probably makes it “woke” according to contemporary dumbfucks.
16. Bauhaus “Dark Entries” (1980)
“Dark Entries” is the apotheosis of goth-infused post-punk—clamorous, anxious and darker than Dracula’s taint. Take care when googling Bauhaus, or you might wind up listening to a podcast about Walter Gropius by mistake.
15. Sad Lovers and Giants “Imagination” (1981)
Considering Garçe Allard’s Morrissey-esque croon, you might mistake this dreamy anthem to be a Smiths B-side. However, SLaG predate their more well-known fellow countrymen, and have produced a decent stack of perfectly polite, jangly British post-punk over their long career.
14. The Feelies “Fa ce-La” (1980)
Too twee to be punk and too frenetic to be pop, “Fa ce-La” is like the sonic embodiment of caffeine jitters. If you feel like you’ve seen this album cover before, it’s because Weezer ripped it off for the Blue Album. Or paid homage or whatever.
13. This Heat “Paper Hats” (1981)
A disquieting track with a quickly raked guitar refrain that draws you in, only for you to be concussed by nihilistic proto-Cobainian yowling and a dysrhythmic percussive barrage, which finally dumps you into a churning krautrock soundscape, leaving you to flail like a helpless worm on the scorched earth, crying out to the gods, “Why hast thou forsaken me?”
12. Siouxsie and the Banshees “Jigsaw Feeling” (1978)
A beautifully raw track from the Banshees’ 1978 debut. Siouxsie’s impact on music was enormous, as was her influence on cosmetics—her fanbase would go on to drive profits for the eye shadow industry for generations.
11. The Cure “Grinding Halt” (1979)
Before pivoting to become world-renowned mopers, the three imaginary boys that composed the first version of The Cure crafted some upbeat post-punk, as exemplified by this decidedly un-goth, peppy track. Dig that surf guitar hook!
10. New Order “Dreams Never End” (1981)
New Order began as a nearly seamless continuation of Joy Division’s brooding post-punk before developing into worldwide techno-pop superstars. Their debut “Movement” is as close as we ever got to a third Joy Division LP. “Dreams Never End” finds bassist Peter Hook serving up a convincing Ian Curtis facsimile.
9. Mission of Burma “Secrets” (1981)
The opening minute of “Secrets” is utter chaos, making the break into the snappy song proper quite the euphoric release. Luckily, Mission of Burma formed in the late ’70s, as Mission of Myanmar doesn’t have the same ring to it.
8. The Fall “Industrial Estate” (1979)
Metallic, chopping guitar yields to a dancey call-and-response verse in this track, which features Mark E. Smith’s trademark amphetamine-fueled sprechgesang. Trivia Corner: The Fall went through so many members over their 40-year career they now have their own category on ancestry.com!
7. The Wake “Favour” (1982)
Teetering on the edge of frigid post-punk and cozy twee, The Wake are like a cross between Factory labelmates Joy Division and fellow Glaswegians The Vaselines. Warning: “Favour”’s delicate guitar hook will embed itself in your brain like that worm from “Star Trek II.”
6. The Sound “Heartland” (1980)
“Heartland” is a beautiful, urgent track by the woefully overlooked The Sound, featuring a startling klaxon of a synth hook and Adrian Borland’s plaintive wail. If there were any justice in this world, The Sound would be a household name and Bono would be wringing out rags in a Dublin pub.
5. Television “Friction” (1977)
“Marquee Moon” might be Television’s most well-known song, but “Friction” is just as good and half as long, which is useful if you need a dose of intellectual lyricism and guitar virtuosity but don’t have ten minutes to spare.
4. Magazine “Shot By Both Sides” (1978)
This paranoid entry from ex-Buzzcock Howard Devoto and crew starts with a ferocious guitar hook and goes on to build up nervous energy until it finally boils over, playing out like a four-minute spy thriller. Magazine were from an era where you could just look around at the stuff in your living room when you were trying to come up with a band name—they came this close to calling themselves Coffee Table.
3. Joy Division “Disorder” (1979)
Whichever Joy Division song appeared on this list had potential to be divisive, since every song from their abbreviated catalog is arguably essential. “Disorder” made the cut simply because that iconic drum and bass intro is one of the greatest album openers in history.
2. Wire “Map Ref 41 Degrees N 93 Degrees W” (1979)
While Wire’s debut was more or less straight-ahead brainy punk, this track from their third record exemplifies their growing penchant for the weird. The title refers to the geographical center of the US (not to be confused with the spiritual center of the US, which is a burned-out Shake Weight factory a few miles outside of Bakersfield, California).
1. Gang of Four “Natural’s Not in It” (1979)
Topping the list are Gang of Four, who are the definition of quintessential post-punk with their meticulous beats, razor-sharp guitars, and politically-charged lyrics. “Natural’s Not in It” finds the band lambasting first-world ennui and the emptiness of the bourgeois lifestyle. Take a listen to hear the supremely British John King pronounce “migraine” as “me-graine”.
Go listen to the playlist: