Post-Punk
Post-punk is the experimental rock that grew out of punk in the late 1970s, keeping its energy but adding new rhythms, textures and ideas.
Bands dropped punk's simple three-chord attack in favor of sharp, angular guitars, heavy melodic bass lines and drums borrowed from funk, dub and disco, with detached or intense vocals. It began in Britain around 1977 and spread to the United States and elsewhere. It is darker and more adventurous than new wave, and it led directly to gothic rock, indie rock and alternative dance.
Artists it is known for: Joy Division, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Public Image Ltd, Gang of Four.
- Family
- Alternative & Indie
- On Spotify
- A current genre
- What it is
- A genre
- From
- United Kingdom, late 1970s
- Trackify listeners who play it
- 11%
About 9,000 of 83,000 Trackify listeners with public profiles have post-punk among their top artists of the last four weeks. Rounded; updated 13 November 2026.
Post-Punk artists
The Cure
Fontaines D.C.
Talking Heads
New Order
Kino
Joy Division
Interpol
Molchat Doma
Siouxsie and the Banshees
Sonic Youth
The post-punk artists most Trackify listeners have in their top fifty. Each opens on Spotify.
Sources
The definition is written for this site from open sources, and was checked against them on 13 November 2026.