Post-punk has always been a difficult genre to pin down, despite having been around for decades. It’s as defined by what it’s not (i.e., punk) as what it is, and its artsy nature makes it tough to describe. But whatever it is, IST IST have post-punk in spades on their third album, Protagonists.
Indeed, Protagonists sounds like it could have come out in the post-punk’s eighties heyday, dark grandeur, stark sounds, even deep, echoing vocals. The most evocative track is “Mary in the Black and White Room”, but the whole record is epic tragedy, from the big push of opener “Stamp You Out” to the dark new wave synth finish “Trapdoors”.
Admittedly, IST IST don’t reinvent the genre, but post-punk is both so specific and yet so amorphous. Embrace our latest dark age with Protagonists.
