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 F*****g 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.