Cloud Nothings: "Psychic Trauma"

"Psychic Trauma" doesn't sound like anything you haven't already heard, but that's primarily because the component sounds are so familiar: garage rock, noise... and post-punk? You don't see the latter thrown into the mix that often, at least not successfully, but damned if Cloud Nothings don't pull it off. I'm a root-for-the-underdog kinda guy so I'm not necessarily pulling for Here and Nowhere Else to come off as a top 10 album at the end of 2014 - Christ knows they earned a lifetime's supply of accolades for 2012's (admittedly glorious) Attack on Memory - but it's good to hear the band haven't lost a step nonetheless.

THROWBACK 1980 || The Associates: "Paper House"

Never released as a single, "Paper House" remains one of the more overlooked - and elegant - entries in the tragically short lived career of the already unfairly obscure Scottish band, The Associates (later just Associates). Like the best bands of the time, Associates fused upbeat, minimalist synth patterns with mechanistic percussion and dark, oblique bass/guitar lines to create a dichotomy of repressed alienation.

The Flag: "Alpha 60 Punch Out"

First of all, as the band themselves are quick to point out, this is not an incarnation of dueling Black Flag reunions. Granted, The Flag are of recent vintage, but jefe Ted McGrath could never have guessed when he christened his new project that the seminal punk band would be reuniting in conflicting incarnations, with neither of them boasting any sign of Henry Rollins. If you followed that Soundcloud link above you'll appreciate the fact that McGrath cops to a Suicide influence, what with that rolling percussion loop, but there remains an indiscernable quality to "Alpha 60 Punch Out" that's at once familiar yet not so easily identifiable.

Ex-Cult: "Mister Fantasy"

Nope, not a Traffic cover, "Mister Fantasy" leans heavily on the "punk" end of the post-punk conundrum, vocals straight out of 1977 Sheffield with icy, cavernous production more redolent of 1979 Manchester. Never mind that Ex-Cult are straight out of Memphis, when you're recreating a long lost era a well-stocked MP3 collection is more important than the influence of a local scene anyway.

Soft Metals: "Tell Me"

Pretty snazzy Kraftwerk beat you're rocking there, Soft Metals. What epitomized 80's post-punk and synthpop so well was the combination of icy, detached riffs and potent, repressed vocals and "Tell Me" captures that effortlessly. It also frankly adds nothing new to the now 30-year old dynamic, but I'm not sure that we really exhausted the formula back in the day before neutering it with dreams of pop stardom, so a little vintage authenticity is always welcome.

[EDIT 7/20/13: added music video]:

Savages: "She Will"

Straight up missed Savages during SXSW, but sleeping on more bands than you actually catch is just par for the course when there's something like 3,000 bands on the roster, and that's only counting the "official" lineup. This is mostly in the vein of early 80's post-punk, but the finale builds up to the kind of mantra-like refrain that was common in 90's riot grrl/grunge, so there's that. I doubt these ladies want to be compared to Elastica, let's just put it that way.

Silence Yourself is out May 6 on Matador.

Screaming Females: "Poison Arrow"

This fucker's got 1981 written all over it. Post-punk and dour to the core, Screaming Females hang their hat on a pronounced groove and piercing guitar riff while sticking with that dejected, world-weary singing style that you have to struggle to make out... like I said, '81 all over again.

Beach Fossils: "Careless"

With the success of both DIIV and Heavenly Beat, things were looking pretty questionable just how quickly members of those bands would reconvene into Beach Fossils, the mothership. Well fuck me runnin' there's a new BF due February 19 on Captured Tracks. First single "Careless" is already pimping earholes worldwide, and you can peep that oh-so-Lou-Reed album art above.

DIIV: "Doused"

When it comes to the modern iteration of post-punk (post-post-punk?) you've got your bands like Interpol that seem to crib a large chunk of their inspiration from a particular vintage act (in their case Joy Division) and then you've got groups like DIIV that are capable of summing up every great post-Factory post-punk band out there without digging themselves into a (post-)hole.

The excellent Oshiin is out now on the incomparable Captured Tracks.

King Krule: "Rock Bottom"

"Rock Bottom" starts off like it's going to be some left field lounge tune - complete with introductory shout outs - but, as has been typical of Archy Marshall's material under the King Krule banner thus far, the song gathers up the loose ends from 80's New Romantic, Pulp's lush mid-90's Britpop and even jazzy, pseudo-breakbeats. Also the band name was inspired by the arch enemy from the Donkey Kong Country series so, you know, ghetto pass...

[UPDATE 11/12/12: added music video]:

Slug Guts: "Scum"

You don't often hear Western sounding guitar licks thrown into a noise rock song, but Aussies Slug Guts are not your average cacophonous post-punk band. Already on their third album but still largely unknown outside Oz, this is one band content to (not so) quietly skulk in the shadowy corners of the blogosphere. Of which WKMR is grudgingly shadowy as fuck.

Crocodiles: "Endless Flowers"

For all I know Crocodiles were actually named after the debut album by Echo & the Bunnymen, but they do manage to shoehorn a few other post-punk / new wave influences in there as well: Psychedelic Furs, for one. Maybe early (really early) Human League? I don't know, but the familiarity merely provides a back drop for the band's solid, accessible songwriting.

Endless Flowers the album is out now on Frenchkiss.

Holograms: "Monolith"

What we have here is a bit of the old post-punk, part Killing Joke, part Joy Division, part The Cure. This could have been the anthem for the winter of 1981 if it had actually been around at the time. It's a bit darker - more martial - than the first single from their upcoming debut. Holograms sound British but are actually straight outta Stockholm.

Holograms is out July 10 on Captured Tracks.

Eternal Summers: "Wonder"

With all the 80's-via-60's revivalism going on in 2012 it's nice to hear a band that hark back to the Elastica-friendly sounds of the 90's... which was itself largely a tribute to the 70's. Think we have the majority of the rock era covered.

Merchandise: "Time"

Flux capacitor set to 1981. Floridians Merchandise aren't bringing a lot of modernity to the table here, mostly content to ride the Joy Division / New Order template, but when the results are this inspired who cares? To top it off, you can download the album for free here.

[UPDATE 7/20/12: added music video]:

A Place to Bury Strangers: "You Are the One"

Is this a new direction for A Place to Bury Strangers? They've been slowly letting up off the (volume) pedal in small increments since their self titled debut five years ago. The title track from this year's Onwards to the Wall EP hinted at the rhythmic post-punk of "You Are the One", though the other four songs were in line with their faster noise rock material. I'd label this video NSFW for violence and general lascivious sleaze. If the boss is looking over your back you might just settle for the Soundcloud audio below.

Worship is out June 26 on Dead Oceans.

Moonface: "Teary Eyes and Bloody Lips"

Moonface is only one of many projects Spencer Krug is or has been associated with - Wolf Parade, Sunset Rubdown, Frog Eyes, etc. - but this one is entirely his baby.

Nice synth-tinged post-punk flirting with New Romantic here... slightly Flock of Seagulls, partly Psychedelic Furs; there's even a Stevie Nicks reference that would have been timely when "Stand Back" was still a top 40 single, which sounds about like the era "Teary Eyes and Bloody Lips" seeks to invoke.

Heartbreaking Bravery is out April 17 on Jagjaguwar.

[UPDATE 4/10/12: added official video]: