Post-no wave: History and Key Facts

Post-no wave is a style and era of music that emerged from the original New York City no wave scene in the early to mid 1980s.

By the Pop Culture Files editorial team•Updated September 30, 2026•2 min read•✓ Fact-checked

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Post-no wave is a style and era of music that emerged from the original New York City no wave scene in the early to mid 1980s. It's considered to have arisen after the disintegration of the original scene in 1980, and encompasses an expansion of the scene in areas such as Chicago and Japan. It further differs from no wave by exploring new music genres, making use of modern technology and studio techniques, embracing rock or funk idioms, a greater rhythmic complexity or a tongue-in-cheek nihilistic humor. As a result, post-no wave usually fuses the angular and deconstructive approach of its predecessor with a more song-oriented sound.

Significant examples of post-no wave bands can be found in the works from former scenesters and new acts that were shaped by no wave in the 1980s —like Rat at Rat R, Sonic Youth and Swans—, the ephemeral Chicago No Wave scene in the 1990s and a nebula of scattered artists since the 2000s such as Erase Errata, Talk Normal, Liars and Gilla Band.

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