While new wave’s mainstream popularity was relatively short-lived, it continues to influence modern music. The use of synthesizers to accompany a punk-rock sound is still popular among bands that are most often characterized today as “indie” rock. Indie is a term originally meant to classify rock bands that had not been signed to a major record label and instead played on smaller, independent labels. The term has gradually evolved and lacks a clear definition in modern music, but bands that do not play traditional rock often receive a variety of genre classifications, frequent among which is “indie” (“Indie Rock”). Such bands include Radiohead, WALK THE MOON, and Passion Pit, who tend to use synthesizers to create a sound that is reminiscent of new wave.
Radiohead takes its name from the 1986 Talking Heads song “Radio Head” and reflects much of the new wave aesthetic in their music. Writing for The New Yorker, Alex Ross identifies Radiohead as a “rock band” but nuances that otherwise restrictive genre classification by describing their style as “eclectic” and “avant-garde.” Their 1997 album OK Computer contains songs about riot police, yuppies, and aliens that present archetypally new wave themes of “the onslaught of the information age and a young person’s panicky embrace of it” (Ross).
WALK THE MOON similarly claims its new wave heritage by taking its name from the 1979 song “Walking on the Moon” by The Police. Consistent with the history of the genre, they target a college-educated audience, dedicating their song “Anna Sun” to the titular professor. Member Nicholas Petricca cites Talking Heads as one of the band’s influences (Kaplan), and their song “All I Want” features a burbling synthesizer riff evocative of that in “Once in a Lifetime.”
Another modern band with a new wave sound is Passion Pit. They consistently add keyboards and synthesizers to the guitar, bass, and drums of standard rock music. Their sound, along with their anxious frontman Michael Angelakos and the heavy use of visual effects in their music videos, make the band very similar to the Talking Heads. The shaky nervousness of Angelakos’ voice, especially in the song “Sleepyhead”, is as intriguing and charismatic as David Byrne’s awkward physical movements in “Once in a Lifetime”.