The Dead C

Long-running New Zealand trio the Dead C were early pioneers of noise rock, stretching traditional guitar and drum instrumentation into contained explosions of bleary improvisation and lo-fi recording. Active since 1986, the group quickly developed a sound based around meandering, blown-out approaches to more conventional rock sounds, crafting a catalog of records that obscured melodies deep beneath walls of murk, feedback, and otherworldly noise. Records from the Dead C's '90s catalog like Trapdoor Fucking Exit and The White House helped define a movement of home-recorded experimental artists. The group remained productive throughout the '90s, 2000s, and 2010s. Later albums tended more toward instrumental pieces, but the band's sound stayed remarkably consistent, with latter-day albums like 2013's Armed Courage and 2020's Unknowns continuing the otherworldly tones they started with.