Frustration - Relax (2008)

   Even though there were tryings to bring back many already nearly forgotten music genres into popularity, still some ideas might sound surprising in the modern scene. Some tryings working out so well, that they're resulting a renaissanse for the exact style, while others are staying as genuine experiments, like Frustration was.
   The band brought back the long time gone post punk/alternative rock feeling of the early '80s, and they did that with such ease that probably nobody could tell the age difference. With very basic, but catchy themes they've recalled the mix of melancholy and intensity with the touch of suspected inner struggles partly based on self-destruction. That might be a quite complex thing to describe, but post punk expressed that with the toolbar of simplicity, a way like no other style was able to repeat. Their simple themes, lyrics, self-expression grabbing the listener to the core and planting there bittersweet feelings. This was the most advantageus feature of the style, and nothing similar effective enough was heard for a long time until Frustration showed up. Some songs are like arsing around, some are depressing, some are gentle and introverted, others are sounding pretty joyful, but even in that case the lyrics are not in balance with the music, so it's almost ending up sarcastic. All sounds all-round nostalgic and in high quality, so the question may stand why that didn't lead to a wider post-punk resurrection? The anwser is simple: the main scene was going into a completely different direction that lacked deep impression, and not many of the old audience of the style kept their interests active enough to keep paying attention and to become the supporting part of a new small movement. However "Relax" is an excellent album that filled an empty space that was left behind since the late '80s.

The Cure - The Cure (2004)

   The Cure went through some changes during the decades, and interestingly while their dark gothic image took it's final form, their music turned brighter and softer compared to their '80s era. 

   Their self-titled album seemed to return to the basics by a modern sound that showed analogy with the actual tendencies of the main music scene. The concept of the album was great and it's also kind of rare to see that old bands with cultic status showing any sign of attention or interest to what actually happens in the main scene. And also the darker, more melancholic and depressing music of The Cure were quite missed during the past decades. Because of the actuality of the album's style also couldn't be told that it was self-repeating. The band catched successfully the preferred frequency, and were able to convert it into their own style. Similarly catchy and great songs haven't been heard by The Cure since a long while. The modernized ambitions had advantageous effect on their music and this made the self-titled album compatible with younger audience too, since not many of them are so receptive about the gloomy approach of an era they didn't live in. Way harsher and evident methods are needed to pick from the toolbar of expression than before to impress the audience. And It's also not and everyday's experience from old bands to move comfortably by taking modernized ambitions. In total, The Cure album was a nostalgic and very relevant release the same time, that kind of resurrected the band's well known image and former dark glory. 

The Sisters of Mercy - First and Last and Always (1985)

   By covering themselves into the gloomy mist of rothic rock, The Sisters of Mercy debuted as a band of the plenty of followers of the British post-punk wave. After the basic features were lie down by The Cure, in truth not many remarkable things happened in this style, but the name this band was kept in mind, while most of the others were forgotten.
   Why is that? There aren't many ways to approach that preferred gloomy, desperate sound of post-punk, and it's not easy either. The simple, basic themes a band could have operated with have to be moody and catchy the same time, must find the most suitable geniune voice, singing style, and the lyrics have to be effectively demoralizing too. This recipe could be also correct about most other genres, but to name several or more bands which could fit to the description is way harder in this one. Especially if we are looking for that well known heavy and gloomy feeling in some similar form. However The Sisters of Mercy found the way to that high level of hopelessness and added a new melancholic shade to the main depressive picture.

The Chameleons - Script of the Bridge (1983)

   Even though The Chameleons didn't gain so wide attention like other post punk bands in the '80s, they still had stable fan circle, and counted as a respected band.
   Their debut showed strong similarities with the late style of The Cure, except their music wasn't so intensively demoralizing. Of course their soft, calming melodies are not about to reflect the small joys of life, but shrouding the listener into the mist of strong melancholy like most post punk music did. Lyrics about inner struggles, sorrow and loneliness are assisting to the depression. On the side of the downbreaking gloom there is always something that not allows to merge too deep. Their music isn't so monotonously repetitive like in the case of The Cure for instance. Some catchy melodies or interesting musical solutions are frequently interrupting, and the main atmosphere isn't so dark either. It sounds like The Chameleons tried to stay on some middle way by their music (according to the main tendencies of this style of course), and maybe this was responsible for their moderate effectiveness at the audience, though "Script of the Bridge" is an excellent album and could nicely define the main features of the style.

The Cure - Pornography (1982)

   The appearence of The Cure caused a gothic-post-punk wave, and their latest, and I think best album in their early and most depressive period was "Pornography". Their previous albums also don't had any message of endless happinness, and the desperately suffering voice of Robert Smith worked well too as narrative instuctions for the listener, to find the darkest corner of the room and hide there. But on "Pornography" they reached the top with their melancholic and depressive music.
   "It doesn't matter if we all die..." To start an album like that is really cheerful, isn't it? Anyway the atmoshpere and the music itself are also more intense like on their previous albums, and this is the main cause why it became more effective. Their music stayed so simple like it was, but this small change resulted a deeper impression which may cast down the sensitive soul of the unsuspicious listener into more endless depths. Out of the borders of post-punk, The Cure's early period is an important event in alternative music too in general.

Bauhaus : In The Flat Field (1980)

   Gothic rock and post-punk are not really related to the main concept of this blog, but because of the dark tone and pulling-off feeling that Bauhaus showed at the beginning, they have a place here. Plus they were a main influence for these genres, and they just approached things for a start just like the way how I like this style.
  Their music was still in some experimental form, and during listening their songs losing more from their dark tone, and slowly a more popular, synthpop-like feeling is exchanging the dark, gothic mist. That tendency was the same with their late albums too. The feeling which made the "Bela Lugosi's Dead" debut and the "In the Flat Field" album unique events, couldn't be found in their late music anymore. Their musical experiment was interesting, because it gave a different impression to musical minimalism after punk, by showing a different possible way. This impression also included the feeling of heavy self-destruction of the '70s hard rock with a huge dose of depressing and demoralizing side effects. On the side of Bauhaus, The Cure had an important role to give a hint for that direction, and kept the features which they shortly left behind.