In my article over at AV Club I wrote a small primer on post-punk where I cautioned readers to steer clear of non-canon albums due to the poor shit / hit ratio. Here are a few exceptions.
Former member of The Pop Group, Mark Stewart, now makes fantastic, abstract dub under his own name (sometimes listed as Mark Stewart + Maffia). Just as abrasive as The Pop Group and slightly more catchy.
Mark E. Smith has managed to keep The Fall alive (albeit currently with a slightly boring rock sound) but has also managed to collaborate with German experimental techno duo, Mouse on Mars under the name Von Sudenfed. Their album Tromatic Reflexxions is equal parts bizarre and brilliant.
PiL’s Jah Wobble has released numerous dance and ambient albums, collaborating with the likes of Brian Eno, Holger Czukay and Bjork. One of his more recent albums is a mixture of traditional Chinese music and dub (which sounds better than it reads).
Finally, post-punk / new wave group Japan spent their career pushing the limits of pop until they were forced to disband. The group’s singer, David Sylvian, has continued his exploration of improvisation, free-jazz, drone and ambient since the 80s, most remarkably on last year’s Manafon.
