Post-punk is used to describe bands that played around with punk’s themes while being more sonically and lyrically dense. Some examples include Joy Division, The Cure and Talking Heads. This movement dissipated but resulted in another movement altogether. In the early 2000s, a few bands that played a different type of rock appeared on the scene. Stripped down yet raucous, these bands shaped the music industry in a way that would not be recognized by many for a long time.
Bands like Interpol, The Strokes and The White Stripes were probably the last harbingers of ‘Rock’ as a few see it in its purest form – a guitar-driven form of art. The movement was brought to the limelight with The Strokes’ debut album ‘Is This It’. Seen by many as a watershed moment in how Rock music was perceived, it took the focus away from nu-metal bands like Limp Bizkit and Korn and placed the limelight on bands like The Hives and other bands with an aesthetic like The Strokes.
This is not to discredit other bands. Bands like The White Stripes, Arctic Monkeys and The Killers arguably reached higher levels of success, but none of this would have been possible without The Strokes. They paved the way for everyone else. Alex Turner has even stated how he had sneaked into a Strokes show back in 2003 and how it inspired him to start a band. He even name-dropped them on ‘Star Treatment’ off Tranquility Base Hotel + Casino, showing how much they mean to him. The popularity of bands like The Strokes and The White Stripes gave rise to bands like Franz Ferdinand and The Libertines. Coming from Britain, they had the same sonic palette, while also being sound instrumentally.
New bands popped up, while The Strokes released their sightly underwhelming sophomore album, Room on Fire, in 2003. The Killers broke into the mainstream with their debut, Hot Fuss, in 2004 with singles like “Somebody Told Me” and “Mr. Brightside”.
While being like what the garage rock scene produced, they were a little different. With cleaner production, rousing arena-ready choruses and synths, they were not afraid to experiment and get out of their comfort zone. This meant the Garage Rock scene slowly died down. While bands like LCD Soundsystem and The Rapture flourished in an alternate scene, Garage Rock slowly died down with the release of uninspiring albums like First Impressions of Earth (by The Strokes). The aftermath of this was much more interesting.
Freed from creative constraints, most bands initially associated with the scene came up with much more experimental works (Comedown Machine by The Strokes, How Deep Is Your Love by The Rapture). Some went onto achieve mainstream fame (Arctic Monkeys, The Killers, MGMT). Bands like LCD Soundsystem, which were more experimental and electronic-based, developed a cult following. While most artists from era-defining scenes fade away into the background, the internet has helped artists remain in the spotlight, may it be through social media or streaming platforms.
Written by Pratham Shenoy
Image source: Pitchfork
Chords & Co. 