Adam and the Ants ‘Ant Music’ from Subculture to Image Culture
Adam of Adam and the Ant’s original costume is in the Victoria and Albert Museum but you can get Ant-style highwayman and pirate costumes online if you want.
post-punk
The Cure’s Genre-Defining and Genre-Defying ‘Faith’ 40 Years On
The Cure’s Faith–released 40 years ago this April–comes from a haunted, solipsistic place and it seduces you into its tormented world.
Small Reactions Grow Their Pop Approach with ‘New Age Soul’
Small Reactions polish their indie-pop sound with increasing sophistication. New Age Soul is an emotionally and intellectually well-rounded album.
Musicians Pay Tribute to Gang of Four on ‘The Problem of Leisure’
Post-punk pioneers Gang of Four get the tribute they deserve on The Problem of Leisure: A Celebration of Andy Gill and Gang of Four.
Fiddlehead Deliver Hearty Post-Hardcore with ‘Between the Richness’
Fiddlehead’s Between the Richness takes from post-hardcore, punk, and emo and skips the boyish flourishes. Although it could benefit from being longer, it’s precise and vigorous.
Soul Jazz Records’ ‘Cold Wave #1’ Is a Brilliant Collection of Cutting-Edge Dance Music
The collective talent on ‘Cold Wave #1’ is breathtaking, and the album is a fabulous tribute to the kinds of sounds born out of 1970s club culture.
Black Midi’s ‘Cavalcade’ Is Spellbinding and Circuitous
Black Midi’s Cavalcade displays superlative skills, fierce chemistry, and avant-garde vision, offering spellbinding performances while also falling prey to sonic tautologies and circuitousness.
Alarmed By the Seduction: Squeeze’s ‘East Side Story’ at 40
For East Side Story, British popsters Squeeze hired a brilliant producer and made an album that’s both eclectic and remarkably consistent 40 years later.
How the Church Broke the Mold With ‘Of Skins and Heart’ 40 Years Ago
The Church’s Of Skins and Heart carved out a unique place in popular music from an unlikely location (and from the most unlikely set of influences).
It’s 1981. I’m Hip. I’m British. But What Am I Dancing To? ‘Shake the Foundations’ Will Tell You
Cherry Red’s Shake the Foundations: Militant Funk and the Post-Punk Dancefloor 1978-1984 is a beginner’s guide to pre-millennial, UK cool.
30 Years of The Jesus Lizard’s Emotional, Meaningless ‘Goat’
The Jesus Lizard’s emotional yet meaningless 1991 album, Goat is full of head-spinning, swinging derangement that still leaves listeners reeling.