Top Five Best Post-Hardcore Records

Fugazi

Refused and At The Drive-In reunited for Coachella. Now Quicksand is getting into the act, reuniting to play FYF Fest. People are nostalgic for the post-hardcore bands of yesteryear? Apparently.

For those not in the know, post-hardcore grew out of hardcore punk in the late 1980s. The movement began with DC's Revolution Summer, the moment in 1985 when hardcore punks tired of hardcore. After spending five years playing four-chord ragers about teenage alienation and "the system, maaaaaan..." erstwhile punks tinkered with musicianship while maintaining their passion and intensity. Post-hardcore was born, known for angular, edgy guitar work, off-kilter tempos and impassioned, wailing vocals.

Don't be fooled by new jack whiners with silly outfits and sillier names like The Plot To Blow Up The Eiffel Tower. The original wave of post-hardcore was legit as shit. Remember that next time you're trying to impress some girl at a bar by talking about "math rock." Here are the five best post-hardcore albums.

5. Jawbox
For Your Own Special Sweetheart

Jawbox's roots lie in Government Issue's demise, as Jawbox's front man J. Robbins played in the final incarnation. They first gained exposure on Maximumrocknroll's They Don't Get Laid, They Don't Get Paid, But Boy Do They Work Hard compilation, released before the punk Bible decided that post-hardcore wasn't punk. "Savory," off of For Your Own Special Sweetheart, got the band some buzz when 120 Minutes featured it, but the band ultimately couldn't capitalize on the '90s alt-rock explosion. They disbanded in 1997 with Robbins and fellow guitarist-vocalist Bill Barbot forming Burning Airlines.

4. Fugazi
In On The Kill Taker

Fugazi are one of the most overrated bands of the '90s -- had the band not featured Ian MacKaye (formerly of Minor Threat) and Guy Picciotto (of Revolution Summer superstars and emo progenitors Rites of Spring), few would have cared. Still, for better or worse, they basically defined what post-hardcore meant, from sound to style to ethos. In 1993, they struck gold with In On The Kill Taker, their only consistently listenable effort. The record displays an edgy, aggressive angularity that other efforts lacked. And remember kids -- no moshing allowed when Fugazi come to town.

3. Shellac
Terraform

Shellac frontman Steve Albini, formerly of Big Black and Rapeman, and producer sound engineer on Nirvana's In Utero, was post-hardcore before post-hardcore was cool. His earliest efforts had more in common with the shape of punk to come than with the "loud fast rules" ethos of his contemporaries. 1998's Terraform isn't edgy, it's downright creepy. The sound is as sparse and stark as the album's front cover, depicting the first arrivals to an alien landscape. The 12-minute opening track "Didn't We Deserve A Look At The Way You Really Are" will haunt you like a nightmare, while the two-minute closer "Copper" is likely the most poignant song ever written about an inanimate object.