The Raincoats cover

The Raincoats

Released

Is this the hardest punk album of all time, or the hardest post-punk album of all time? Three friends living in squats (at least some of the time), the Raincoats took the DIY part of punk and left the rest. Their cover of “Lola” is ostensibly the Kinks, but four women singing “I’m not the world’s most passionate guy” does a number on identity. Eliminating the violence and aggression of punk means these four self-taught people made an album that has aged beautifully. Kurt Cobain loved it so much he wrote the liner notes for the first of many reissues. (It’s worth Googling those for the story of Kurt meeting Ana da Silva and going full fanboy.)

Sasha Frere-Jones

Recommended by

Suggestions
Music of Nights Without Moon or Pearl cover

Music of Nights Without Moon or Pearl

David Rosenboom, Michael Byron
Steamroom 29 cover

Steamroom 29

Jim O'Rourke
Femenine cover

Femenine

Julius Eastman
Magic & Machines cover

Magic & Machines

Vanishing Twin
Suicide cover

Suicide

Suicide
Oxygène cover

Oxygène

Jean-Michel Jarre
Éliane Radigue: Occam Ocean cover

Éliane Radigue: Occam Ocean

Julia Eckhardt, Carol Robinson, Rhodri Davies
Aomawa: The 1970s Recordings cover

Aomawa: The 1970s Recordings

Idris Ackamoor & the Pyramids