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April 12, 2007
A new crop of bands are throwing their spin on the signature sound of '80s
GRAMMY.com
Bryan Reesman
Stylish videos, eye liner, and glamorous clothes are in, a new wave of metal bands are roaring to life, we're living under a conservative presidency, and new wave — that catchy, post-punk movement definable as both rock/electronic hybrids and adventurous guitar rock — is popular. No, it's not 1982 but 2007, and new wave is back with a vengeance, from tours of popular vintage acts like Duran Duran, Depeche Mode, Gary Numan and Blondie to hot newcomers like Ladytron, Interpol and Shiny Toy Guns and platinum chart-toppers the Killers and Franz Ferdinand.
"I think those vintage keyboard sounds from the late '70s and '80s are finding a new audience, especially with bands like the Killers and the Sounds," believes Michael Falcore, lead guitarist for the Birthday Massacre, a group that mixes up new wave, Goth and metal sounds. "Shiny Toy Guns are putting a modern spin on Human League. The music is fresh, though, because it’s merging with the indie and punk genres, and punk and Goth fashion are merging into something new as well. It's a good time for music."
One can certainly close their eyes and listen to the Bravery (think Duran Duran), Interpol (shades of Joy Division) or Stefy (echoes of Berlin and Eurhythmics in spots) and think that they were back in the '80s. But for many this new revival is not mere nostalgia. "You can play New Order, then Ladytron, the Killers, and Joy Division, and somehow it all fits," says Robert DeSalvo, associate editor for Playboy magazine. "I think that's why this [music] might stick around a lot longer."
This isn't the first time new wave has reared its head again. American groups like Kill Hannah and the Faint and Norway's Apoptygma Berzerk have been playing and recording this music since the mid-'90s, plus many Goth clubs across America have been reviving synth pop on the dance floor for years. But it's become more widely fashionable again just recently.
"For the longest time, especially with the popularity of Nirvana and pop punk, you could get your ass kicked for having a keyboard in a band," asserts Mat Devine, lead singer for Kill Hannah, which combines guitar-driven new wave with modern rock touches. "We were constantly ridiculed for that. I don't think any kind of synthesized sound should've been taboo, but it was so overused and misused for long enough that it became associated with cheesiness. It's been long enough for people to forget that kind of stigma, and I think there's so much crap [out there] that there's a nationwide nostalgia for the era when people wrote great songs."
Stephan Groth, frontman for Apoptygma Berzerk, notes that many musicians today came of age during the '80s and have a personal link to it. "When it comes to songwriting, the '80s was the best decade ever," he declares. Apoptygma Berzerk's recent studio album You And Me Against The World took their lush synth pop sound and expanded it into a band format, an extension of what the group has been doing in concert for years. Groth says it's the group's biggest album yet. "There are a lot of bands at the moment trying to do electronic music with a lot of guitars in there, or rock bands with a lot of electronics in there," says Groth. "The mix is really interesting, and there's definitely an interest for it in Europe at the moment."
As people get older, they go back to their roots, affirms Steven Smith, VJ for Fuse. "When I go back, I go to listen to all my Stooges records or go on an all Beatles diet," he observes. For young people today, "going back is checking out [their parent's] Human League [albums]." And that familial connection is significant. "I read an article recently about how the generation gap is no more. Of course your parents who grew up on Joy Division are going to like Interpol. If a kid comes home listening to Communiqué, the parents aren't going to mind because there is a familiarity to it."
Stefy Rae, singer for Stefy, is 21 and learned about new wave bands through a sister 10 years her senior. She notes that fans of the quartet range from young teens unexposed to this music to 30- and 40-somethings who recall the music of their youth through them. "We have introduced bands like Berlin and Blondie to younger fans who are 12 or 13 and haven't heard anything else," says Rae. "They think we're making this music for the first time."
Many contemporary bands are exposing young listeners to new wave through covers, which have become more common. Shiny Toy Guns covered Depeche Mode's "Stripped" live in concert, while H.I.M. and Kill Hannah have performed Billy Idol's "Rebel Yell." On CD, No Doubt have recorded Talk Talk's "It's My Life," Deftones have covered numerous tunes including Duran Duran's "Night Boat," Cradle Of Filth have reinvented Heaven 17's "Temptation," and Lacuna Coil have tackled Depeche Mode's "Enjoy The Silence." And Stefy have a version of the Cure's “Close To Me” lurking in their vaults.
But nostalgia is not simply what drives younger bands to explore this style of music. "We don't want to just remind people of an '80s new wave band," says Rae. "We really want to mix it up. We want to be a little different. We want to bring a little bit more of a modern life to our project and step it up a notch."
Some view the current new wave revival as more imitation than resurgence. "My problem is the fact that most of the bands that are doing what people are calling new wave didn't grow up listening to it," remarks Adam Bravin, a co-founding member of brooding dance-rock group She Wants Revenge, who experienced new wave as it evolved. "Listening to Duran Duran's Greatest Hits doesn't give you that great of a sense of new wave as a whole. Most of it isn't authentic enough for me. It just sounds like people are ripping it off rather than using it as an influence." Still, he hopes that this new wave of New Wave will evolve into something greater.
For others, authenticity is in the ear of the beholder. "There are a lot of young bands here in Norway trying to sound like Black Sabbath, but they were not around when Sabbath were on the charts," observes Groth. "They didn't experience it that way, but that doesn't matter because they want to sound like Sabbath because they feel the vibe. You don't really need to be a certain age to experience something the real way."
Originality issues aside, DeSalvo notes that older new wave artists still draw big crowds of old and new devotees in L.A., despite little to no airplay, and prove the longevity of the music. "[The fans] still go to concerts, bands like Berlin and Human League, and they embrace all the new bands, too," he states. "That really doesn't extend to radio. Radio will play some of these new bands because they want to keep up with what's out there, and they'll play nostalgic tracks on '80s flashbacks, but if you get a band like Berlin, Human League or Psychedelic Furs, someone that's still around and still has a large audience, they won't play their new tracks. They just see them as nostalgia acts, but I don't think the fans really do."
(A child of the '80s, New York-based writer Bryan Reesman has recently contributed to The New York Times, American Way, Premiere and Billboard.)
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