Post-Punk Britain: Bands that Took a Chance to Be Different

There's been plenty written on the Punk hey-day between 76' - 79' and even the Post-Punk music scene. During these years though there were a few bands who could never really be easily categorized and who by and large just didn't seem to fit in. Lost in the shuffle, they didn't seem to have any particular crowd to align themselves to. As a result some had a hard time attracting the interest of the punk & post-punk crowd. On occasion though originality and vision would win out with some groups forming their own unique little clichés or sub-sub genres. Here a few of the bands born out of the Punk era. Bands who couldn't quite find their niche genre wise in the late 70's early 80's but who managed to forge their own unique sound and vision.

Doll by Doll
Always an aggressive band live but more traditional rock than punk. They had an air of maturity that reflected a passion for straight on rock more than the posturing of the punk crowd. This was a band that never did fit into any particular category and seemed to be proud of their very singular style. They weren't punk but they did have a kind of pub-lad street-cred. An acquired taste and at the time perhaps a bit too much like a poor man's 'Stranglers', another band who skirted but avoided the punk Monika. 'Doll by Doll's main draw was the deep, rich vocal stylings of their lead singer 'Jackie Leven' A rough-house Scot who's soaring in your face melodramatic vocal stylings were completely at odds with either the 2 minute punk single or the post-punk intensity of a band like 'Joy Division'.

Japan
Here is a classic example of a band who took probably 3 full years to find their musical niche. Their first album 'Adolescent Sex' from 1978 a guitar driven Americanized rough-metallic edged mix of songs showcasing Mr. David Sylvian's distinctive singing style (see wailing) lacked direction. His voice was often compared to both 'Bryan Ferry' and 'David Bowie' but managed to exist all on its own terms to the point that nowadays people are more likely to say that someone sounds like 'David Sylvian' more than 'Bryan Ferry'. Their 2nd album 'Obscure Alternative's' from 1978 is my favorite 'well what genre do we file this under?' record. Keeping the metallic thread of the first album but mixing in heavy dub and a keen reggae sensibility making full use of 'Mick Carn's' stellar base playing here was a rare occasion when a group actually managed to showcase a base player which aside from Level 42's 'Mark King' is a feat rarely accomplished. In 1979 they released 'Quiet Life' which was very Roxy Music like and showed off their keyboard players 'Brian Eno' influences, ultra smooth and slickly produced. They had almost found their niche as the New Wave and Electronica of the Human League and Depeche Mode were coming into vogue. In 1980 they released 'Gentlemen take Polaroid's' which was more of the same but lacked the pop-punch needed to break the charts in a big way. Finally in 1981 they released 'Tin Drum' and oddly enough it was a slow song 'Ghosts' managed to make Japan a household name in the British charts.

Punishment of Luxury
What an odd little group this was. More Progressive than Punk but more Punk than Rock. Aggressive, unsettling and loud they managed to distance themselves from Punk and Post-Punk with a combination of musically elaborate songs which seemed to jump from full on rock to pub-chant chorus to experimental chanting and back again. Sung with the paranoid insanity of a 'Pink Floyd' style asylum inmate in the throws of mental anguish the songs were mostly short and hard. They only made one album of any merit and that was their first 'Laughing Academy', the best Prog/Punk/New Wave/Post-Punk album that nobody's ever heard of.

Cabaret Voltaire
Innovators of the tape-loop and purveyors of wondrous discordant noise Cabaret Voltaire existed in the periphery of punk's rear-viewfinder. Innovative but too hard and industrial in their early recordings in 78-79 to latch onto the blistering 2-3 minute punk songs of the day. They later poppified their sound and in 1983 with the release of 'Crackdown' managed to produce what I consider to be their best album. Big pounding electro beats fighting with distorted vocals and nasty lyrics produced a slowed down trance/techno sound that would foresee much of what was to come from bands such as 'Prodigy' and 'Nine Inch Nails'. Their ode to the depressed 'Why kill time when you can kill yourself' did not as you might expect go on to become the favorite prom song for the year. The independent early years gave way to find them recording with more established labels and much like 'Devo' who also began with a very aggressive, very punk attitude the group mellowed out by the early 80's.

The spirit of punk certainly pushed some of these bands into existence and the ethos of independent production and experimentation was never higher than the late 70's and early 80's. There were some bands who took bigger risks than others, defining their own sound and spirit without caving to the commercial successes of punk bands of the era. These groups managed to find their own voice and for some engendered a cult following of fans who like themselves were looking for something unique in the music world. Rock n' Roll, sometimes being different isn't only a good thing, it's a necessity!