XTC

XTC’s journey from prickly art-punk mavericks to purveyors of brilliantly Beatles-esque pop is one of the most fascinating taken by any British band to emerge in the late ’70s. It’s all the more remarkable that this route includes one of the New Wave era’s most idiosyncratic hits in 1979’s “Making Plans for Nigel.” One reason for their musical scope is the presence of two equally gifted singer/songwriters in guitarist Andy Partridge and bassist Colin Moulding, who, after a couple of false starts with other bands, formed XTC in Swindon in 1975. Incorporating their shared interests in power pop, dub reggae, and psychedelia into their otherwise disparate sensibilities, they created a series of audacious and inventive albums that included their 1979 breakthrough, Drums and Wires, and 1986’s beatific yet biting Skylarking. Though the duo’s partnership dissolved in the wake of XTC’s two-volume Apple Venus in 1999 and 2000, the band’s influence is clear on a variety of UK artists, especially Blur, Pulp, and other Britpop acts who strived to match their wit and audacity.