Electric Apostles: The Top Ten Pioneers of American New Wave

Image credit, Joe Daly

In the sweat-soaked, neon-flickering belly of the 1970s, New Wave surged forth as punk rock's oddball cousin – a little less snarling, yet still thrumming with the heart of a subversive. American bands were the shock troops in this stylish insurrection, fusing punk's raw pulse with an off-kilter pop whimsy, synth riffs and a twist of avant-garde panache.

Each gang in this ragtag pantheon injected New Wave with its own strain of sonic DNA, casting the genre as a day-glo chameleon beast, ever-evolving, wrapped in the American flag. These pioneers of New Wave tangled with the spirit of the times, delivering melodies that stuck like gum under the diner table while reimagining the identity of pop music itself. They were the heartbeat of innovation, a sound that shattered genres and cultural boundaries, embodying the chaotic, vibrant soul of an America in the throes of transformation. Here are the top ten New Wavers to come from the US of A:

10. Tom Tom Club

Out of the Talking Heads' shadow, the Tom Tom Club sprouted in '81 with Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth at the helm. They dropped a self-titled debut that slung Genius of Love across our collective consciousness, now a staple groove in hip-hop's sample-happy universe. This outfit's genius was their slick dabbling with funk and Caribbean zest, proving New Wave's multicolored soul could swallow whole and spit out musical genres with a fresh spin.

9. 'Til Tuesday

Boston coughed up 'Til Tuesday in the neon dawn of the 1980s, their anthem Voices Carry a whisper-turned-scream in the introspective void. At the forefront was Aimee Mann, a poetess armed with a crystalline voice that would later blaze like a bright beacon through her solo odyssey. 'Til Tuesday threaded a needle through the heart of New Wave, stitching together mainstream appeal with the kind of emotional complexity often shunned by the plastic pop ruling the airwaves. Their legacy was a blueprint for those craving to wed earworm hooks with soul-bearing narratives.

8. Oingo Boingo

In the three-ringed circus of the late-70s Los Angeles soundscape, Oingo Boingo was the freak show contorting under the big top. They were a maelstrom of theatrics and spasmodic tunes, dropping bombs like Dead Man's Party in the middle of the spandex-swaddled, hair metal maelstrom of the mid-80s. Led by Danny Elfman, future maestro of the silver screen, they wove a kaleidoscopic tapestry from threads of punk, ska, and worldly beats, displaying New Wave's appetite for anything and everything sonically bold.

7. The Motels

The Motels haunted the neon-washed L.A. scene like specters of New Wave’s duskier corners, materializing in '75 with a sound draped in velvet shadows. With the sultry hit Only the Lonely, they spun a web of atmospheric tales, each a vignette steeped in moody tones and echoes of smoky bars. The Motels were more than a band; they were the torchbearers of a narrative depth that draped New Wave in a cloak of cinematic intrigue. Their contribution was a soundscape that wove the genre’s upbeat tempo with the rich, dark shades of human experience.

6. The Go-Go's

From the snarling L.A. punk scene, The Go-Go's burst with sun-kissed bravado, smashing onto the Billboard charts with Beauty and the Beat in '81. They had a knack for powerful hooks that bit deep, and their West Coast radiance infused New Wave with a heady dose of Vitamin D. As the first chart-topping, instrument-wielding, all-female crew, they shattered ceilings, proving women in rock could sling guitars, pack stadiums and rake in accolades by the truckload — all on their own damn terms. Their music still stands up today, ripping through the fabric of the now with the same exhilarating freshness they unleashed on the world forty years past, undiminished by the savage teeth of time.

5. The Cars

Another mammoth entry out of Boston's fertile breeding ground, The Cars revved up in the mid-70s, engineering a sound as sleek and shiny as their name implies. With anthems like Just What I Needed, they blurred the sonic lines, melding rock's guitar growl with the synthetic whispers of New Wave. The Cars were the cool kids in the mechanic's shop, tinkering under the hood of pop music, retrofitting it with an edge that was ready for the airwaves and yet defiantly inventive.

4. Blondie

Blondie erupted from the gritty heart of NYC in 1974, with Debbie Harry blazing the trail like a punk rock Marilyn. Four years later, Parallel Lines had etched Heart of Glass into the cosmic jukebox, a tune that spun around the world with disco-ball dazzle. Harry and her band were New Wave alchemists, transmuting punk and disco into gold, even flirting with hip-hop's burgeoning beats. They weren’t just a band; they were a cultural tidal wave, with Harry's star power carving a path through music's ever-shifting sands, proving New Wave could be anything—especially a ticket to the top of the charts.

3. The B-52's

The B-52's rocketed out of Athens, Georgia, in 1976, donning kitsch like war medals and beehive dos like crowns. They delivered a debut album with Rock Lobster, a party anthem that became the siren song for New Wave fun. With thrift-store chic and a sound that mashed up surf rock with dance beats, they made retro cool and dancing mandatory. The B-52's weren’t just musicians; they were the pied pipers of pop art, showing that New Wave could groove with a wink and a smile, all while setting trends that would ripple through the fabric of both sound and style.

2. Devo

Out of Ohio's industrial sprawl, Devo emerged in '73, clad in yellow jumpsuits, their minds marinated in the concept of "de-evolution" — the idea that humanity was regressing. They blasted into the cultural consciousness with a sound as precise as a metronome, as quirky as a rubber band. Whip It, launched into the ethos in 1980, served as Devo's auditory lash, a track resonating with sardonic satire and an uncanny foresight into society's retrograde stumble. Devo wasn’t just playing music; they were staging a full-blown multimedia insurgency, pre-empting the MTV revolution with a vision that was both a parody and a prophecy of the digital age’s dawn.

1. Talking Heads

The Big Apple spat out Talking Heads in '75, and with them came the restless ghost of New Wave, embodied by the spectral David Byrne. They tossed in African beats, funk, and punk into a cauldron that bubbled over with the otherworldly Remain in Light in 1980. The Heads were architects of the avant-garde, their influence sprawling from Byrne's herky-jerky jives in oversized suits to their theatrical concoctions that turned stages into strange, new worlds. They were the mad scientists of the movement, lacing the fabric of pop with sounds that spanned the globe.