Pop/Rock » Alternative/Indie Rock » Punk Blues

Punk blues take the structure and simple instrumentation of classic blues songs and mixes them with punk's rawness, distorted guitars, and attitude (which has much in common with the attitude of many blues artists like Hound Dog Taylor and Little Walter). The style has forerunners in the garage rock sound of the mid-'60s, the primal howl of early Captain Beefheart, and especially in the raw and desperate sound of the Gun Club's landmark Fire of Love LP from 1981, but punk blues really came to life in the early '90s with bands like the seminal Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, the Gories, and the Gibson Brothers. The sound of punk blues continued into the 2000s with even more visibility thanks to the popularity of the White Stripes.