New wave of new wave

The new wave of new wave (also known as NWONW or New wave revival) was a term coined by music journalists to describe a subgenre of the British alternative rock scene in the early 1990s, in which bands displayed post-punk and new wave influences, particularly from bands such as the Clash, Blondie, Devo, Squeeze, XTC, Wire, and the Stranglers.^[1]

The associated bands generally played guitar-based rock music often accompanied by keyboards. The movement was short-lived, and several of the bands involved were later linked with the more commercially successful Britpop, which it immediately preceded, and the NWONW was described by John Harris of The Guardian (one of the journalists who first coined the term)^[2] as "Britpop without the good bits".^[3] The NME played a major part in promoting and covering the genre, and promoted the "On" event, which featured many of the bands they had labelled NWONW.^[4]

Robert Christgau identified the mid-1990s NWONW movement as the peak of a new wave revival that has continued on and off since, stating in 1996, "1994 was the top of a curve we can't be certain we've reached the bottom of".^[5]

Record label Fierce Panda's first release, Shagging in the Streets, was a tribute to the scene, featuring S*M*A*S*H, Done Lying Down, These Animal Men, and others. Associated bands have included Elastica,^[1] S*M*A*S*H,^[1][6] Menswear,^[7] Sleeper, Echobelly, Shed Seven,^[6] These Animal Men,^[6][8] and Compulsion.^[4]

Zolo is a music microgenre coined by radio DJ Terry Sharkie in the 1990s for his live radio show known as the "Zany Zolo Musik Hour". The genre is characterized by "quirky" and whimsical lyrics over adventurous, often complex arrangements, and was used to refer to a subset of songs from avant-garde, progressive and art rock artists like Frank Zappa, Gentle Giant, the Residents and Renaldo and the Loaf, as well as the more absurd side of new wave with artists such as Devo, XTC, Cardiacs and Oingo Boingo, who incorporated influences from art punk and post-punk. During the 2000s, new wave revival bands such as the Oblong Boys and Zom Zoms appeared describing their music as "zolo", while drawing influences from synth-punk.^[9]

• New wave music
• New rave
• Microgenre