VA - Music For New Romantics [2022] (3x CDs) | Butterboy

 

VA - Music For New Romantics [2022] (3x CDs)

VA - Music For New Romantics [2022] (3x CDs) 

The New Romantic era didn’t begin with a manifesto. It began with a mood — a desire for glamour after years of grit, a hunger for colour after the monochrome of punk. Music For New Romantics captures that shift across three discs, tracing the path from early sparks of theatrical rock to the sleek, electronic pulse that defined clubs and charts in the early eighties. It’s a set that understands the movement not as a genre, but as a feeling: dramatic, stylish, and always reaching for something larger than life.

The first CD lays the foundation. Mott The Hoople, Roxy Music, Lou Reed, New York Dolls, Donna Summer, Grace Jones, Giorgio Moroder — artists who shaped attitude, image and rhythm long before “New Romantic” became a label. Their tracks carry swagger, art‑rock elegance, and the first hints of electronic sheen. You can hear the seeds of what would come: glamour, performance, and a fascination with the future.

The second CD steps directly into the movement’s core. Tubeway Army, The Human League, OMD, Visage, Simple Minds, Telex, Japan, Yello — the sound becomes colder, sharper, more synthetic. Drum machines click, synths shimmer, and vocals move between detachment and drama. This is the moment when clubs like the Blitz defined a new aesthetic: androgynous fashion, sculpted hair, and music that felt both modern and mysterious.

The third CD shows the movement expanding. Marianne Faithfull, The Associates, ABC, Tom Tom Club, A Certain Ratio, New Order, Chas Jankel, Kid Creole, Gina X, Sister Sledge, Lipps Inc. — the boundaries dissolve. Funk, disco, post‑punk, art‑pop and electronic dance intertwine, proving that New Romanticism was never a closed circle. It was a cultural shift that welcomed rhythm, experimentation and style from every direction.

What makes Music For New Romantics compelling is its sweep. It doesn’t isolate the movement. It shows the influences that fed it, the artists who defined it, and the sounds that carried it forward. For collectors, it’s a panoramic view of a scene built on imagination. For listeners, it’s a reminder that the New Romantic era wasn’t just about fashion — it was about creating a world where music felt like escape, transformation and possibility. (Butterboy)

I am really not sure about Butterboy’s thesis here and it is easier to designate who may have been ‘Punk’ artists than the New Romantics. There are clearly a lot of ‘indie’ rock bands and singular artists here (Iggy Pop? Marianne Faithful?! New Romantic? I don’t think so!) that some other artists might have done romantic songs doesn’t mean they are best included in a movement as such (not that there was much of a ‘movement’ like Punk. there really weren’t that many outside a handful of bands and a club or two - Spandau Ballet, Heaven Seventeen, ABC, Blue Rondo A La Turk, M, John Foxx, Thomas Dolby, Tom Tom Club at a pinch maybe  but Throbbing Gristle?, A Certain Ratio?, Chaz Jankel?!, New Order . . . . .all qualify as post-punk to me but New Romantic I don’t think so and he leaves off Boy George, Matt Bianco and Duran Duran who were clearly labelled such!) Still check the link and download the files and see what you think!