A Rocking Revival
When we talk about a post-punk revival, a new wave revival, a garage rock revival, or the new rock revolution, we are referencing the same point in musical history. Garage Rock was a term coined by young amateurs, those who weren’t necessarily pursuing music as a life-time career, but appreciated the art enough to simply play without the pressure…mostly in their garages. Hence the name, Garage Rock. It became a style of music - something about the lack of resources and the barriers to making music gave it such an edge that it was co-opted to its very own genre. The turn of the millennium, also referred to as Y2K, brought us back to the raw and rough sounds that were commended for the lack of professionalism, and studio equipment. It wasn’t even really that long ago that the world stripped back to the basics of distorted guitar work and muffled yells. North America in 2001, almost as if directed divinely, began to bring back the fuzz and pay homage to their roots, the simplicity of jamming in the garage.
To reiterate, the revival took place in the early to mid 2000s, gaining unbelievable traction in the West. The original movement was in the 60s venturing until the 80s, meeting a certain demise close after that. Some notable members from the post-punk era (the original one) were the Cramps, the Ramones, Nirvana, and Mudhoney, striking it big with the Grunge community. They can even be credited for what we know about the Grunge aesthetic today, reminiscent of the dark and edgy angst that smells so strongly of teen spirit. Recorded in a shitty fashion, angry sounds and powerful voices, it is understandable why the end of this era was not its true end. The revival was like a round of matches, the flame contagious and all-consuming. Also comparable to a disease, but in a good way. There is just no other way to explain the wide-spread infectious nature of the Garage Rock Revival. However, the main difference between post-punk and garage rock is actually quite simple to point out, garage rock was heavy on the guitar and bass work, running it through anything that could bring a little fuzz to the track. It’s destroyed, scruffy, and influenced from Surf Rock with less value on the lyrics, and again, more value on the strings. Punk bands generally have a really talented drummer, with rhythm being key due to all the other instrumental elements. They’re tight ensembles that know how the other members play to a tee. It’s very collaborative. Garage Rock was never a guaranteed genre, until rock critics appreciated it enough for it to become one.
2001-2006
Those who know me know just how much I love The Strokes, and maybe that is why I pitched this article idea. Shortly, I really wanted to write about them, and how they became the forefront of this era specifically. They weren’t the first band born out of the beginning of the revival, nor are they the leaders, but after their debut album Is This It (2001), something sparked across North America. Emerging from the New York club scene, the album is very indicative of the narrative it was born out of. All their subsequent projects were compared to their debut, giving rise to demise in their relationships with each other and a five year hiatus till their most recent work, The New Abnormal (2020). This tangent is relevant because I believe a large reason that their first album is the point of reference for everything in their discography is because of when it came out. Maybe it was the culture at the time that made their work flourish in the way that it did, and maybe it was so central to such a great time for music that it became their be-all or end-all. The release of their debut marked the fact that they knew something was on the brink, and it was something really cool. Followed albums and projects came through from The White Stripes, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Interpol, The Black Keys, and Modest Mouse, all leading to the international recognition of a movement that would not quit growing. It reached Europe quickly, to which I will specially mention the Arctic Monkeys, as they were the most prominent act of garage-ness at this point. Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not (2006) is the fastest-selling debut album in British chart history. Interestingly enough, I was born in September 2002, which was when the Rolling Stones magazine’s cover declared “Rock is Back”, referencing the revival. Could this be an other-wordly intervention? I will let you decide.
2007-2010
Despite the dominance that it served five years before this point, the revival was relatively short-lived before it began to dwindle. As the 2008 financial crisis and its implications began to set in, the music industry was hit pretty hard too. The global stress on the market hindered the success of music as a whole. The carelessness and youthfulness of garage rock was annoying at this point, the money was gone and people were uninterested. To listen to a muffled Julian Casablancas in the face of some deep financial adversity is not how one deals with a crisis of this merit. The decline in popularity centered around a type of music that was more reminiscent of this time, people were aging, and lyricism was gaining importance. In combination with post-punk instrumentals, the emotionally complex mood that Indie Rock provided was reflective of the culture at this point. Groups such as Arcade Fire and Death Cab for Cutie took the broken stage.
2011-Present
In the aftermath of 2008-2010, a resurgence took place spanning all the way to the early 2020s. However, it strayed a little further from what garage rock originally looked like prior to the previous decade. This one was definitely centered around Europe, namely British and Irish bands. With a talking-style of singing over post-punk instrumentals, this was humorously referred to as “Post-Brexit New Wave Rock.” Some bands to mention are Black Midi, Fontaines D.C, and Black Country, New Road. The current scape is pretty representative of Punk as a whole; not straying too far from the fuzz of garage but also constitutive of the indie that took off not long after 2006. It is key to mention the influence of COVID-19 on this style of music, simply enough, people didn’t have anything else to do. People also didn’t have anywhere to go, so making music at home was the only viable option.
In the final analysis, the history of Garage Rock is not one to mess with. It is the reason for so many substreams of punk, alternative, and indie. It is very fun to listen to, and to play. Power chords and the like, it is an inclusive style of music. It's raw and there’s nothing really like it, it holds its weight in the status quo of sounds. I love it so much for the rich backstory it brings to everything it does, bringing so many of my favourite artists to light. I love how it began, as people simply playing to play, and it stands the test of time. Meet me in the garage at 7?
Illustration by: Sarah Kaye
