a broad genre of rock music born from musicians departed from the raw simplicity and traditionalism of punk rock, instead adopting a variety of avant-garde sensibilities and non-rock influences. Inspired by punk's energy and diy ethic but determined to break from rock cliches, the artists experimented with styles like electronic music, jazz, and ideas from art and politics, including critical theory, modernist art, cinema and literature.

• reference artists:

u2, joy division, siouxsie and the banshees, talking heads, the cure, death cult, r.e.m, the smiths.