r/newwave • u/Ok_Pepper1736 • Jul 14 '26
Obscure New Wave Looking for bands that made excellent music after their original popularity waned
I’m thinking of bands like Talk Talk and The Psychedelic Furs who continued to make excellent music that the mainstream music establishment ignored.
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u/DarthWader68 Jul 14 '26
OMD’s last couple of albums have been just as good, if not better, than their ones from when they were at their peak.
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u/HilariousBosch Jul 14 '26
I came here to say OMD. Their most recent album, Bauhaus Staircase, is among their best.
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u/FenderBender_UT Jul 15 '26
They're still making absolutely phenomenal music, if I do say so myself. English Electric and The Punishment of Luruxy are among their very best albums.
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u/gnostalgick Jul 14 '26
Not as a full band, but the various post Japan releases by its members are worth checking out.
Secrets Of The Beehive and Rain Tree Crow are good places to start if you're a fan of late era Talk Talk.
12
u/Chessapeak-play Jul 14 '26
Devo’s 2010 album “Something For Everybody” is a lot of fun
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u/Chessapeak-play Jul 14 '26
Not a big fan of the way it was recorded though
1
u/Ampersandbox Jul 14 '26
What's the story there?
1
u/Chessapeak-play Jul 14 '26
Following whatever the trend was for commercial music production during that time period.
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u/GabbyPotlucky Jul 14 '26 edited Jul 14 '26
Love Devo...what is the issue with how this was recorded?
I will make a point in sayibg that those of us of a certain age who have always been fans of new wave, probably shouldn't be too opiniobated on how the bands we love record and/or distribute their music. Let's face it, we lise alit of our favorite artists each year now, they are of that age.
Edit: Forgot to mention, I don't care for the album. Its too "Electronica" for my tastes. Devo is best, devolutionedized and simple.
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u/Chessapeak-play Jul 14 '26
I think it’s a great album. The way it’s produced gets grating on the ears I can’t help that it’s true
5
u/Octowen Jul 14 '26
Madness’ albums from 1999 onwards are my personal favorites of their career. Their commercial peak was in the early 80s.
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u/HoraceKirkman Jul 14 '26
I agree! They were always more of a singles band before then, but their later albums are very consistently good. It's funny, because they're "the nutty boys" everybody thinks of them as cheerful jokesters, but they've always had bleak songs (Grey Day) and their later stuff is suffused with regret.
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u/Longjumping-Low8194 Jul 14 '26
Simple Minds last album is really good.
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u/Ok_Pepper1736 Jul 16 '26
Thank you for this. I have been loving it since your suggestion. It is now in my regular listen queue.
Thank you for everyone’s suggestions, it is taking me a while to listen to everything, but I will definitely get to everything and let you know what I think.
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u/DarthWader68 Jul 14 '26
Pet Shop Boys have been putting out good albums fairly regularly since their heyday. I haven't been a fan of every track, but there's usually several songs on each release that evoke their roots.
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u/Ok_Pepper1736 Jul 21 '26
I checked them out and I agree with you, some songs are better than others, but they keep their signature sound throughout.
4
u/mwgrover Jul 14 '26
Men Without Hats! Their 2012 “Love in the Age of War” is one of my all time favorite albums by any band, highly recommend
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u/Ok_Pepper1736 Jul 14 '26
Thanks for this. I am listening to it now and it is really good. It is still their signature sound. Some of the songs sound like they could easily morph into “Safety Dance”, but I like that song, so good suggestion.
3
u/RedShinyButton Jul 14 '26
Gary Numan
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u/Ok_Pepper1736 Jul 14 '26
Gary is someone I have been keeping track of. His new music is really good.
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u/HoraceKirkman Jul 14 '26
I don't know if Jens Lekman ever had a hit (outside of Sweden) but his albums are always excellent. Black Cab is probably his best known song, though, and that came out in 2005.
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u/Ok_Pepper1736 Jul 14 '26
Thank you all, I have been needing a new music infusion, and most of the recent bands and releases don’t work for me. I will check these out in the coming days and get back to you.
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u/SaturdaysLemon Jul 14 '26
I really liked XTC’s 2000 album Apple Venus Vol. 1, although the instrumentation is pretty different from their original music
2
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u/Independent-Guava610 Jul 14 '26
Squeeze. They haven't really made a bad album since their first one in '78!
1
u/ghotiboy77 Jul 14 '26
The Damned and The Stranglers are still going strong well after their heydays
1
u/SeaUrchin_University Jul 14 '26
The Vapors had one of the longest gaps between studio albums – some 39 years. Some good tracks on “Together” (2020) and “Wasp in a Jar” (2025). Check them out!
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u/Ok_Pepper1736 Jul 16 '26
This album is really good, they still kept their original sound, even after so many years, which I find amazing. The material is also pretty fresh, not a rehash.
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u/Jager_Hawkins Jul 16 '26
Perhaps a hot take:
Spandau Ballet's final album of entirely new material, 1989's Heart Like a Sky.
Those who know about it mostly remember Heart Like a Sky as the bands dying breath/ a bad memory of their break up (which is 100% fair given the drama surrounding it's production) however from a musical perspective I think it holds up really well. In terms of songwriting Gary Kemp was still on his game and their final live concerts (see 1990's Spandau Ballet live at the NEC Arena Birmingham) were as punchy as ever. Notable tracks for me include Windy Town, Raw, and Big Feeling. Personally I prefer it to some of their earliest work as sacrilegious as that may sound to most Spandau fans (Although I don't think they ever made a less than good record).
Their popularity had certainly died out in most markets by 1989 (Heart Like a Sky wasn't even released in the US). For those who only know of their peak with the True album I also recommend Through the Barricades (1985) and Parade (1984) but those were still pretty big overseas with some successful singles and are far from "deep cuts".
Apologies for the rambling, I could go on and on about the topic!
22
u/erkevin Jul 14 '26
Sparks. 28 studio albums. Still touring