Last week, I offered up a testimonial of what Bloc Party’s seminal debut Silent Alarm meant to me, here in the midst of its 10th anniversary. The byproduct of all that reminiscing was falling into the wormhole that was the indie-friendly, post-punk revival of the mid-2000s that Silent Alarm was born into. I might as well have had my nose in my high school yearbook, because my listening habits in the days to follow have been totally soaked up in that nostalgia, rediscovering bands I’d all but forgotten: The Rakes, Louis XIV, The Futureheads, Radio 4 and more. That said, it felt only right to assemble my top 25 favorite post-punk (…ish) songs circa 2005.
Note: The defining lines of the post-punk revival are somewhat ambiguous. Some lumped in the garage-rock movement (The Strokes, The White Stripes, Kings of Leon, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club), and others add in the new new-wavers (The Killers, etc.). I narrowed it to the dance-punk strain for the purposes of this list (i.e. the ones that had a mostly harder go of things post-2008).
Enjoy the trip down memory lane.
25. Tom Vek — “I Ain’t Saying My Goodbyes”
Musical weirdo Tom Vek makes a little bit of everything (dance, nerd pop, experimental indie), but the sentimental lo-fi cut “I Ain’t Saying My Goodbyes” does its best to marry urban electro with classic post-punk tenants.
24. The Cribs — “Hey Scenesters”
From sophomore record The New Fellas, “Hey Scenesters!” is as perfect a song title for this movement as you’ll find, and The Cribs’ ease at dueling guitars made them some of the best out there. They didn’t blow up as huge (especially stateside) as many of the others on this list, but maybe that’s a good thing. They’ve enjoyed a steady shelf life, aiming to release its sixth studio album For All My Sisters in March.
23. Test Icicles — “Circle. Square. Triangle.”
There are touches of hardcore (and The Mars Volta) to the British outfit’s only album, For Screening Purposes Only, but it’s a burning, dance-centric record at the end of the day. The band might have come and gone, but its members have gone on to bright careers. Guitarist Devonte Hynes went on to reinvent himself as acoustic wizard Lightspeed Champion before reinventing himself again as R&B crooner Blood Orange, enjoying his greatest success to date.
22. The Rakes — “Retreat”
The dastardly quick “22 Grand Job” is the best-known cut from 2005’s Capture/Release, but the English rock band — which broke up in 2008 — was even better on the plucky “Retreat,” channeling all that energy into a more tightly wired indie-rock jam with an explosive-as-hell chorus.
21. French Kicks — “So Far We Are”
French Kicks were subdued enough to fit alongside the Death Cab for Cutie clan of soft indie rock. At its core, though, the guitar runs screamed of Gang of Four and on occasion (like “So Far We Are” from 2006’s Two Thousand) the band would racket up the energy. The New York act hasn’t released another album since 2008’s (very good) Swimming.
20. Maximo Park — “Apply Some Pressure”
If I had to pick a singular image to sum up the mid-2000s post-punk revival, I choose the cover of A Certain Trigger, from which the high-wire flying rock jam “Apply Some Pressure” comes. Dance like no one is watching.
19. Hot Hot Heat — “Goodnight Goodnight”
Make no mistake; Hot Hot Heat was a pop band that made aggressively catchy tunes. However, a lot of the best elements of their best songs (i.e. “Goodnight Goodnight”) borrowed heavily from that post-punk realm. One of the more successful names on this list, they’ve been on life support since 2010; frontman Steve Bays is focusing on his Mounties project instead.
18. Snowden — “Anti-Anti”
I can’t help but wish Edward Snowden’s name alone would have shined a light on these vastly underrated Atlanta rockers. From the band’s debut of the same name, “Anti-Anti” is even-keeled but electric all the same — a more unassuming Interpol that deserved more attention than they ever got.
17. Elefant — “Misfit”
From 2003’s Sunlight Makes Me Paranoid, sunny rock anthem “Misfit” is so special and out-of-character, it feels almost divinely conceived. The band broke up in 2010, though singer Diego Garcia has since struck out as a solo artist.
16. The Wombats — “Let’s Dance to Joy Division”
Liverpool crew The Wombats earn all sorts of points for self-awareness, doubled down by how fun this little pop song is. The band is making its comeback this year with a third studio album, Glitterbug, due in April.
