Nits - work (1981)

The Nits' existential synth-pop sounds magnificent on Work. Benefiting from baroque arrangements (verging on chamber) and indulging on suspenseful paranoid atmospheres ("Lodger", "Hobbyland", "Umbrella Army", "Hands Οn Τhe Watch"), extruding a charming playfulness ("Footprint", "S­­lip Οf Τhe Tongue", "Tables & Chairs", "Buildings"), or even an epic flair ("Empty Room", "Red Tape", "Man Friday").

This belongs more to theatre than music, their deformed pantomime being able to conjure a wide array of emotions.

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Ui - answers (2003)

Ui remained in the post-rock atlas convincingly with Answers.

"Back Up" blended the neurotic funk practice with the convoluted structures of progressive-rock and the suave edge of post-rock, and while "Get Hot You Bum" was less abrasive, it was just as brainy and groovy, while "Mrs. Lady Lady" featured their most elastic basslines yet.

The contrasting micro-funk patterns and elegant jazz display of "Sunny Nights" showed how A Certain Ratio would have adapted to the post-rock age, while the minimal, feedback-ridden funk "Answers" used it's complex structure to emphasize a suspenseful mood (echoes of King Crimson circa Starless And Bible Black). Ditto for the Slint-ian mini-thriller "The Headache Boat", which was in contrast with the relatively lightweight "Boxer-Painter" (despite the ever present progressive structure).

The diversity just underlined Ui's capabilities.

The rest of the tracks, while not offering anything groundbreaking, were sleek presentations of their musical language (funk, jazz-rock, math-rock, electro), and "John Fitch Way" in particular was one of the most substantial progressive-rock workouts of recent years.

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Astronauts - peter pan hits the suburbs (1981)

The Astronauts, one of the more eclectic bands of the punk/ post-puk era, debuted with Peter Pan Hits the Suburbs in 1981.

The album's range is gigantic: from dissonant punk a la Fall ("Everything Stops for Baby"), to epic progressive folk ("Protest Song", "Baby Sings Folk Songs"), ditties ("Sod us"), hard-rock ("the Traveller"), pop ("How Green was my Valley"), garage/ surf ("Still Talking"), industrial ("How Long is a Piece of String"), and set to arrangements that employ synthesizers, flute, saxophone, and stray into progressive or even free-form/ psychedelic sections.

The icing on the cake is the mature statement of the lyrics, a cynical and bitter exploration of the lives of simple men, miles away from the generic horror/ punk overtones that permeated most of alternative albums at the time.

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Dome - 3 (1981)

Ex Wire duo Dome hit some real highs with 3, a series of atavistic, dissonant industrial-jazz vignettes.

Actually, even more subtle influences are incorporated in the ethnic "Jasz", the factory mini-symphony "Ar-gu", the primitive party rhythms of "Ba-dr", the destructive minimalism of "D-d-bo", the suffocating firepower of "Na-drm", the subconscious menace of "Danse", the zoom chanting of "Dasz" etc.

Most modern post-rock bands fall short of the creativity found in this spartan 1981 album. Get it here.

Cocteau Twins - head over heels (1983)

The Cocteau Twins opened a new, fascinating chapter in their career with Head Over Heels. Their gothic-rock moved away from the paranoid tension of dark-punk and instead assimilated grand, theatrical, ethnic, ceremonial stylizations.

"When Mama Was Moth" signified the new approach with an almost new-age atmosphere, ceremonial drum-pounding, an ominous dense chamber background, Middle-Eastern chanting and medieval brass. Then "Five Ten Fiftyfold's" dramatic power owed something to the theatrical splendor of the progressive groups of the 70's (think Van der Graaf Generator), with airy passages that orientate the shape of gothic and dream-pop to come. Even better, "In Our Angelhood" soars like a dazzling ectoplasmic display of fireworks. The influence of Siouxsie And The Banshees is felt here (not the punk Banshees, but the Banshees that composed paroxysmal gothic dances such as "Icon" and "Playground Twist"). The ecstasy turns even more intense with "Glass Candle Grenades".

The second-side eases off the pace somewhat, with "Multifoiled" (a mishap) flirting with lounge, soul and funk atmospheres, and "My Love Paramour" being more traditionally post-punk. But "The Tinderbox" (with oriental percussion) is a transparent sepia autumnal fairy-tale requiem, while "Musette And Drums" is another staggering bittersweet ceremonial vortex, burning itself brightly like a comet, with a mesmerizing Elizabeth Fraser performance and a dizzying proto-shoegaze guitar-solo in the end.

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Robyn Hitchcock - black snake diamond role (1981)

Robyn Hitchcock's debut was above all a great pop record, as seen in the airy power-pop "Man Who Invented Himself", the sugary boogie "Meat", the disco parody "Do Policemen Sing". Occasionally presenting himself as the new-wave version of Syd Barrett, like in "Brenda's Iron Sledge" (Arnold Layne era), or Jim Morrison ("Lizard").

A more original recipe can be found in "Acid Bird" (Byrds-ian guitars, funk bass, martial beat, lysergic melody, choral background), "I Watch The Cars" (a hard rock, surf, psych and punk pastiche), or even the melancholy ballad "Love".

Psych or not, the common denominator between all the songs is the catchy singalong melodies. Get it here.

In Camera - fin (1982)

Dark-punk underachievers In Camera's swansong, Fin (actually a Peel session), was released in 1982. The band excels in creating a claustrophobic atmosphere in "Apocalypse" (driven by industrial guitar distortions, a frenetic tribal beat and agonizing screams of anguish) and "Co-Ordinates" (with an even more fragmented, metallic and paranoid climate), culminating in "Fatal Day", one of the epics of the cold wave movement: eleven minutes of ominous tension (expressed with slow-motion droning mechanical thrusts) exploding in a paralyzing frozen dance four minutes before the end.

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