Post Hardcore: The Definitive Collection

Post-hardcore evolved from hardcore punk, itself an offshoot of the broader punk rock movement. Like post-punk, post-hardcore is a term for a broad constellation of groups who emerged from the hardcore scene, or took inspiration from hardcore, while concerning themselves with a wider palette of expression, closer to experimental rock.
The genre took shape in the mid- to late-1980s with releases from the Midwestern United States. These included bands on SST Records,[1] and bands from Washington, D.C. such as Fugazi[2] (see the era's releases on Dischord Records, for example), as well as slightly different sounding groups such as Big Black and Jawbox that stuck closer to the noise rock roots of post-hardcore.[3]
Post-hardcore is typically characterized by its precise rhythms and loud guitar-based instrumentation accompanied by a combination of clean vocals and screams. Allmusic states, "These newer bands, termed post-hardcore, often found complex and dynamic ways of blowing off steam that generally went outside the strict hardcore realm of 'loud fast rules.' ... Additionally, many of these bands' vocalists were just as likely to deliver their lyrics with a whispered croon as they were a maniacal yelp."[2] The genre has developed a balance of dissonance and melody, in part channeling the loud and fast hardcore ethos into more measured, subtle forms of tension and release. Jeff Terich of Treblezine states, "[I]nstead of sticking to [hardcore's] rigid constraints, these artists expanded beyond power chords and gang vocals, incorporating more creative outlets for punk rock energy."[4]

Contents
1 History
1.1 1980s
1.2 1990s
2 References
3 Bibliography


History

1980s
Post-hardcore is rooted in hardcore punk,[2] which had typically featured very fast tempos, loud volume and heavy bass levels.[5]
By the mid-1980s, groups classified as hardcore, or with strong roots in the genre, began to experiment with the basic template. The initial outcropping of these groups typically recorded for SST Records[6] (the Minutemen, Hüsker Dü, the Meat Puppets, Dinosaur Jr., and Gone), and emerged from the increasingly experimental tendencies of Black Flag and Greg Ginn's evolving musical tastes. Many of these groups also took inspiration from the '80s noise rock scene pioneered by Sonic Youth[4]. Steve Albini's group Big Black, and subsequent projects Rapeman and Shellac are also associated with post-hardcore[4]. Critic Steven Blush described Big Black as "an angst-ridden response to the rigid English post-punk of Gang of Four".[7] Naked Raygun also made use of "oblique lyrics and stark post-punk melodies".[7]
Later releases on Dischord Records also extended the post-hardcore style, most famously in the work of Fugazi[2][4], but also including bands such as Embrace, Rites of Spring, Nation of Ulysses, Jawbox, Shudder to Think, Lungfish, and Q and Not U. Many of these groups were associated with the "emo" tag. These early Emo bands were pivotal in the development of post-hardcore.[4] Dischord groups also experimented with influences from soul music, dub, post-punk, funk, jazz, and dance-punk. Math rock and to some degree riot grrl were offshoots of this movement.

1990s
A third iteration of post-hardcore took place with the work of musicians who had first come to prominence in the youth crew scene, most famously Fugazi, Quicksand, Helmet but also Glassjaw, and On the Might of Princes[2][4]. Groups such as Drive Like Jehu, Unwound, Hot Water Music, and At the Drive-In, associated with emo, were also significant to the scene[4]. The Montreal post-rock groups surrounding Godspeed You! Black Emperor are also occasionally considered a form of post-hardcore.[8]

References
^ a b Fast'n'Bulbous Reviews'n'Rants 2003 Archive, [1] Access date: June 14, 2008
^ a b c d e "Post-Hardcore", allmusic.
^ allmusic
^ a b c d e f g "The 90-Minute Guide - Post-Hardcore", Jeff Terich, Treblezine, April 24, 2007.
^ Blush, Stephen (November 9, 2001). American Hardcore: A Tribal History. Feral House. ISBN 0922915717.
^ "The mid-80s were unsatisfying times for rockers. Aside from the handful of seminal releases from The Replacements, Naked Raygun and the post-hardcore stable at SST, pickings were slim." Fast'n'Bulbous Reviews'n'Rants 2003 Archive, [2] Access date: June 14, 2008
^ a b Blush, Steven. American Hardcore: A Tribal History. Feral House: 2001. p. 222.
^ "Before Godspeed a lot of us had been interested in hardcore... well, that weird period between hardcore and what's now called indie rock... that period of five years where those two things met. I don't know what you would call that, but there was tons of shit going on all the time. Black Flag is certainly part of it but that's been sort of tainted by Henry Rollins and what he's gotten up to since then ..." - Aidan Girt. David Keenan, "Life Stinks", Interview in The Wire, May 2000 [3] Access date: June 19, 2008

Bibliography
Andersen, Mark and Mark Jenkins (2003). Dance of Days: Two Decades of Punk in the Nation's Capital. Akashic Books. ISBN-10: 1888451440
Azzerad, Michael (2002). Our Band Could Be Your Life: Scenes from the American Indie Underground 1981-1991. Back Bay Books. ISBN-10: 0316787531