Rough Trade Essential: New Wave

"New wave was the time when we opted for arming ourselves with tape recorders by the TV on Thursday nights, surrounding ourselves with the tunes on the Top of The Pops. New wave was the time when we spent the weekend clubbing and our Mondays waiting for new releases."

A renaissance for pop, rock and punk, 'new wave ' is a genre charecterised by its attitude - bold, progressive and unconventional. It is easier to define it as a 'style' rather than as one signature sound - often dark and melody-driven (Depeche Mode, New Order or Psychedelic Furs), sometimes spirited and synth-inflected, with a pop-leaning understructure (Blondie, Human League or Tears for Fears). A common thread between artists associated with new wave is their distinctive visual aesthetic and bold fashion statements, and although many of these artists have changed their sound over time, there is no denying that the new wave era was probably their breakthrough moment.

At Rough Trade, we continue to be fascinated by the new wave sound and any artists who are successfully bringing the genre into the present. Also piquing our excitement around new wave's impressive legacy is popular Instagram account New Wave Social Club (NWSC), a virtual new wave almanac celebrating the era and all its outposts - post-punk, synth-pop, indie and more. We invite the account's curators James and Zara, to help us reflect on some real new wave treasures highlighted within our Rough Trade Essential range.

Handing the keys over to New Wave Social Club. The committed archivists of new wave culture explore ten Rough Trade Essential new wave albums and their standout tracks.

"In the late 70s, a new era of music was forming, and along with it, the term “new wave” joined the scene, attempting to label the more buoyant, quirky, and artsy sound. New wave is often used to describe the style of music that heavily contrasted with the music of the punk-rock era, which was much more hard-edged. This new era of music was influenced much less by 70s blues and rock’n’roll, and instead took its inspiration from the power-pop genre from the 60s. With its witty lyrics, electronic sounds, and choppier tempos making it hard to define, the best description of new wave was by Blondie’s guitarist Chris Stein in 1978, when trying to explain his band’s music:

'I actually think it’s just a lot of new bands coming out at once, a lot of new blood from people who weren’t in the business before and just coming out now…It’s making an impact and snowballing because it’s more than one band; it’s like a great number of bands. That’s actually what new wave is.'

Given the genre’s wide-reaching range, most pop-rock bands of the late 70s and early 80s were classed as new wave at one point or another. It is perhaps because of its breadth that a sense of musical revolution came along with the new wave genre. This is the music we grew up with. The music that shaped our childhoods, our teen years, and continues to shape us in the present. New wave was the time when music was less accessible, so we opted for arming ourselves with tape recorders by the TV on Thursday nights, surrounding ourselves with the tunes on the Top of The Pops. New wave was the time when we spent the weekend clubbing and spent our Mondays waiting for new releases. We started the NWSC page during lockdown and it took off from there. Perhaps we all wanted to remember the simpler times when we spent our pocket money on a newly released record. We enjoy the engagement our page provides, along with the discussions of varying opinions – even those we don’t necessarily agree with. All this feedback we receive keeps us going, allowing us to continue to keep the new wave era alive, which is why we’re here to share our thoughts on some of the new wave titles in Rough Trade’s essentials collection."

Television - Marquee Moon (1977)

Television’s debut Marquee Moon doesn’t fit squarely into the broad confines of new wave. It has been labelled as post punk, as punk rock, as art punk, as well as new wave by various different opinions. However, its innovative guitar work has captured our attention and our hearts, rightfully earning its place as an essential. We favour the title track – a ten-minute epic celebrating the guitar work and highlighting the unique sound the band produces.

Blondie - Parallel Lines (1978)

Spanning across many genres, this album manages to incorporate the essence of punk, pop, new wave, and disco into its own unique sound. For Blondie, this is where it all came together, with Parallel Lines repeatedly being cited as their best work. It allowed the band to break into the mainstream and create a defining moment in the new wave era of music. The tracks Heart of Glass and One Way or Another, are classed as standouts, highlighting the band’s ability to bridge different genres and showcasing their songwriting. It is impossible to mention Blondie without mentioning our favourite song Hanging on the Telephone which notably comes from this album because no matter when it is played, it sounds just as fresh as it did the first time in 1979. Overall, Parallel Lines has a timeless quality about itself and memorialises Blondie at their peak. 

XTC - Drums and Wires (1979)

Drums and Wires is unquestionably new wave, with the album’s foundation being pure pop. The band’s songwriting improved drastically with this album, producing XTC’s finest work, and subsequently resulted in their US breakthrough. Our favourite is the same as most people’s favourites, and we catch ourselves listening to the catchy tune of Making Plans for Nigel more often than we’d like to admit.

Talking Heads - Remain In Light (1980)

Talking Heads are an all-time favourite of New Wave Social Club, with the album Remain in the Light rightfully being labelled as an essential; it is a big hit with us, and many others. The album is commonly praised for its experimental, yet accessible, blend of rhythms – primarily art-rock, funk, and afrobeat. Obviously successful with their experimenting, Talking Heads managed to showcase their ability to evolve and create a unique sound. So much so that this album is commonly regarded as a high point in their career. The album sounds like the beginning of something new, most likely due to Brian Eno mixing loops, funk, and world music alongside the band’s usual sound. The classic Once in a Lifetime is known by all, but we strongly believe Crosseyed and Painless and Born Under Punches should be given more attention and time. These songs are strong examples of Talking Heads' ability to blend diverse influences which help the album cement its innovative sound and ensures its appeal endures the test of time.

The Human League - Dare (1981)

“You were working as a waitress in a cocktail bar”. Who doesn’t know that lyric? It’s the song of the album, and its intro is arguably worth the price of the album on its own. Yet, we feel there is a lot more to Dare than Don’t You Want Me. The Human League’s Dare is a quintessential example of early 80s synth-pop due to its robotic sounding vocals, catchy hooks, and futuristic production – all essential characteristics of the new wave era. It defined a decade and is considered a new wave classic, enjoyed thoroughly after all these years. However, the credit doesn’t all go to the album’s classic hit Don’t You Want Me (despite us harping on about it). Altogether it is a strong album full of solid tracks, for example: Love Action and The Sound of the Crowd, there is not a single skippable song on this album.

New Order - Power, Corruption and Lies (1983)

With their second album Power, Corruption & Lies, New Order transitions from Joy Division to the New Order we know today. They commemorate their past while heading towards their future by blending post-punk with synths, attempting to find their own identity. Controversially to many of the die-hard Joy Division fans (who were unhappy with the remaining member’s style shift), we embrace and even prefer the newfound sound of New Order. This is because the incorporation of dance music along with their heavy use of synths pioneered the alternative dance genre and created our favourite songs we have on repeat to this day. Somewhat contradicting ourselves, we believe the best song on this album is Leave Me Alone which does resonate the most with Joy Division’s original sound. Regardless, this album is considered the turning point in the development of synth-pop, and landmarks New Order establishing their influence as a band, especially with standout tracks such as Age of Consent, 586, and, previously mentioned, Leave Me Alone.

Tears for Fears - Songs From The Big Chair (1985)

Songs from the Big Chair is known as the album that blended synth-pop with broader musical textures, producing a critically acclaimed and commercially successful album. Tears for Fears reached the top of the US charts with this album, with thanks to the iconic hits Shout, Head Over Heels, and naturally with Everybody Rules the World – the album’s peak (for us and most definitely for others). A special mention has to be made to a personal favourite of ours Mothers Talk, which is a Talking Heads influenced anti-nuclear war song which adds an extra layer to the album.

Talk Talk - Spirit of Eden (1988)

In our opinion, Talk Talk’s Spirit of Eden is not an easy listen – you’re not going to like it the first time you hear it, due to its experimentation and unusual instrumentation, but it grows on you despite being detached from the band’s previous synth-pop work. It is widely considered a masterpiece and a landmark album in the post-rock and alternative music, influencing many bands in the post-rock genre, making the Spirit of Eden an album worth sticking with to the end.

Depeche Mode - Violator (1990)

Violator is one of Depeche Mode’s best albums (this is not just our opinion but a widely recognised opinion) because it is an album that defines the synth-pop genre, as well as merges genres of gothic rock, industrial, and new wave. Overall, the album is very polished, filled with dark undertones which produced their biggest hits: Personal Jesus and Enjoy the Silence. Both of these are firm favourites of ours and of all Depeche Mode fans, although slightly controversially, are somewhat overplayed. Regardless, despite the dark atmosphere and possibly overplayed nature of the songs, the album is filled with memorable and sing-along-worthy tracks. Policy of Truth is our favourite on the album and probably our favourite DM song. For us and lifetime DM fans, Violator is still as fresh sounding now as it was when first released.

Nation of Language - A Way Forward (2021)

Admittedly, this album was unheard of by NWSC before browsing Rough Trade's collection; however, we relish at the opportunity to discover new music. After a few listens, we’ve added it to our playlist and recommend others to do the same! The influence of New Order and OMD can be felt running through Nation of Language’s sound. The 80s synth-pop lives strongly in this band, although this maybe is too retro for some younger listeners. Our recommendations (and new favourites) are definitely In Manhattan and This Fractured Mind.

Further Listening

The atmospheric soundscapes and quirky synth of Orchestral Manoeuvres in The Dark rewire the canon of new wave and electronic music.

Baltimore's Future Islands shape a melancholic synth-pop sound reminiscent of New Order or OMD.

Canadian avant-pop singer Allie X heavily draws inspiration from new wave and 80's electro-pop moments tinged with Soviet darkwave.

From Oracular Spectacular to fifth studio album Loss of Life, MGMT have been unleashing new-wave tinted grooves taking a cue from 80s electro.