Inside the Milky Way - A Look at Early Alternative Music

After forming in the mid-1980's, the music of the English band All About Eve fell loosely into the UK goth rock scene. Over the next few years, the music would evolve into a more unique, folk-rock in…

The 1982 self-titled debut album from A Flock of Seagulls was one about extra-terrestrial invasion and alien abduction with themes of technology and space. This concept album blended synth-pop and po…

In 1982, Cocteau Twins released their debut album Garlands. For this Scottish band of Robin Guthrie, Will Heggie and the amazing vocalist Elizabeth Fraser, this was the beginning of a new sound on th…

Led by vocalist and guitarist Jeffrey Lee Pierce, the post-punk band The Gun Club blended punk music with blues and other American roots music influences to become one of the first of the early days …

The Slits were one of the first all-female punk bands and one of the pioneering bands of the post-punk era as they blended reggae and dub with punk music. 

Formed in London in 1976, the band's unique …

The English synth-pop duo of vocalist Marc Almond and instrumentalist Dave Ball, better known as Soft Cell, created one of the most successful singles ever, "Tainted Love", followed by the influentia…

The Wedding Present was one of the pioneering artists of UK Indie rock in the mid-80’s. Led by guitarist and lead vocalist David Gedge, the music of this band was often bittersweet love songs immerse…

The Scream, the 1978 debut album from Siouxsie and the Banshees, was a landmark release to widespread critical acclaim and is considered one of the most iconic and most influential albums of the post…

Yazoo was an English synth-pop duo formed by former Depeche Mode founding member and keyboards master Vince Clarke, and the powerful soulful and bluesy contralto vocalist Alison Moyet. 

The band, also…

The critically acclaimed 1977 debut album, Marquee Moon, from the New York band Television was a defining and foundational work in the history of music. 
With innovative instrumentation, sound, and el…

The Hurting, the 1983 debut album from Tears for Fears,was an intriguing and introspective album that focused on dark subjects such as child abuse, psychological trauma, and depression. This subject …

In 1978, Lene Lovich signed with Stiff Records after years of art schools and travelling Europe , and she found her music career with the song, "Lucky Number". This song would reach number 3 on the U…

The 1990 debut studio album, Nowhere, from the Oxford, England band Ride is considered one of the top shoegaze albums ever made. The music mixed bits of neo-psychedelia and indie rock with the shoega…

Christian Death rose from the Los Angeles punk rock scene in 1979 to become one of the founding bands of American gothic rock and death rock. Initially led by Rozz Williams, the band would create the…

The Undertones rose from the time of the Troubles in Derry, Northern Ireland to go on to be one of the biggest and most successful bands from Northern Ireland. The band's music developed from punk ro…

The Boston based post-punk band, Mission of Burma, was together for only four years during their initial run, but they had a lasting impact on music. One of the few releases from the band during thes…

After taking a couple of years off from recording as Talking Heads, the band returned to the studio for the 1983 album, Speaking in Tongues. This fifth studio album from the band would be the commerc…

The English music and visual arts group Throbbing Gristle began in 1975 creating music which often contained harsh, mechanical, transgressive, and provocative sounds and themes. This was the start of…

When they formed in London in 1978, Visage was a collective of musicians that would take an approach to music and style linking to the burgeoning New Romantic fashion and music movement of the early …