Colchester, UK · new-wave · post-punk

Modern English

1 upcoming festival

4AD post-punks with one immortal single — 'I Melt with You' forever, though the rest of the catalogue runs darker than you'd expect.

Modern English formed in Colchester, England, at the end of the 1970s and signed to 4AD, where they sat alongside the label's early roster of gothic and post-punk acts. Their first records leaned towards grey, abrasive post-punk, but the group gradually moved into brighter, more melodic new wave territory, which is where "I Melt with You" arrived — a song that became a lasting radio and soundtrack staple in the United States and has followed the band ever since.

Frontman Robbie Grey has led the group through breakups, reunions and shifting line-ups over the decades. Their live sets tend to move between the atmospheric, bass-heavy early material and the pop songs that made their name.

new-wavepost-punk