In a 1951 speech, General Douglas MacArthur said, “Old soldiers never die, they just fade away.” That’s not quite the case for old rock & rollers. In the 2020s, many bands from the 1980s have released new albums. We thought it would be fun to rank them, because that’s something people like to do in the 2020s. This list is a top ten, but there’s a bit of a gap between the top two and the rest of the pack.
10:
Pet Shop Boys – Nonetheless (2024)
The Pet Shop Boys, Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe, have really stuck to their guns over the years, perhaps more than any other act on this list. Borrowing a title from The Suburbs (and Thompson Twins), “Love is the Law” is a dreamy track. The single “Loneliness” is more nuts & bolts Pet Shop Boys with horns, background singers, and sequenced, Giorgio Moroder-esque backing track. They released five singles from this, none og which bothered the charts. The final one, “New London Boy,” was backed with a cover of the David Bowie-penned “All The Young Dudes,” made famous by Mott The Hoople in the ‘70s. Weirdly, the album’s catchiest track, “Why Am I Dancing?” was not issued as a single.
9:
Modern English – 1234 (2024)
Even in the ‘80s this lot had a hard time attracting attention, save for their big hit single that was not, in fact, a hit (it peaked at #78). That song, “I Melt with You,” helped make its parent album, After The Snow, a gold record in the U.S.
The new album starts off with the rather predictable “Long in the Tooth,” a song about, you guessed it, getting old. Sonically, it rocks like it’s 1981. Calling attention to the fact you’re old, though, isn’t really telling us much. However, it gets better. Speaking of 1981, the album sounds closer to Mesh & Lace, their debut, than the more synth-heavy and big-selling After the Snow. They may be long in the tooth, but they sure don’t sound like it.
Lately, the band has been touring the U.S., often appearing with several other ‘80s acts on the same bill. With most of the original line-up intact, they released this album in 2024.
8:
Duran Duran – Future Past (2021)
The Duranees have knocked out two albums in the ‘20s, though one, Danse Macabre, is a mostly covers album of sorts, similar to 1995’s Thank You. It features re-recordings of old Duran tracks, as well as bits from their archives, and three new numbers. Future Past, released in 2021, contains all-new tracks. Seems like those two titles should have been flip-flopped. In any case, the boys from Birmingham released six of the album’s 12 songs as singles. It received mostly positive reviews. It won’t make you forget Rio, but it is one of their best latter-day efforts.
7:
The Fixx – Every Five Seconds (2022)
The Fixx were always one of those bands that did a lot better here than in their native Britain. For some reason, they just fit well into the American ear. Indeed, their biggest hit back home was “Stand or Fall,” which only got to #54 there. Meanwhile, they clocked six top-40 hits here and have several other recognizable songs thanks to heavy exposure on MTV back in the day.
While they got a bit rockier at the end of the ‘80s and into the ‘90s, this record is a return to form. “Closer,” the last of three singles to be released from the album, is probably the best track. Live audiences have responded well to it. “Take What You Want” was also wisely chosen as a single and really captures that classic Fixx sound. “Wake Up” deserves your attention as well.
6:
Depeche Mode – Momento Mori (2023)
It’s fine. Perhaps their best since Alan Wilder left. It has always baffled me that people have become Depeche Mode fans long after AW turned in his resignation. “Wagging Tongues,” “Ghosts Again,” “Caroline’s Monkey” (not a single), and the Kraftwerk-y “People are Good” are stand-out tracks.
5:
Psychedelic Furs – Made of Rain (2020)
Sonically, it sounds like early Furs, but with the hooks of Forever Now and the very great Mirror Moves. “You’ll be Mine.” “Wrong Train,” “Come All Ye Faithful,” and “The Boy Who Invented Rock & Roll” are the highlights. Fits in well with their late ‘80s output.
4:
Tears for Fears – The Tipping Point (2022)
People went crazy for this one, and I’m sure a lot of folks are thinking, “This should be at the top of the list.” The title track is good, while “Break the Man” really sounds like vintage Tears For Fears. “My Demons,” on the other hand, sounds like TFF a little further down the line when Roland Orzabal was on his own under the Tears For Fears banner. Nice hook that one. “Please Be Happy” and “End of Night” are good as well, the latter punctuated with decidedly ‘80s synth sounds. The songs really grow on you. However, it’s not an immediate blast like the top two albums.
3:
Jesus & Mary Chain – Glasgow Eyes (2024)
The Jesus and Mary Chain’s second album of the millennium finds them not quite as noisy as they were in the ‘80s, but still more distorted than anyone else on this list. They’re still managing to stick those hooks in there as well.
The oddest thing about this effort is the electronic flavoring of the tracks. Oh, there are plenty of guitars and a good deal of feedback, but there are some synths a foot. One of the reasons the Reid brothers formed a band was due to their disdain for the keyboard-heavy pop music of the early ‘80s. In the 2020s, they seem to have come to the opposite conclusion Depeche Mode reached in the early ‘90s. It works, as those distinctive parts give each track a unique sound.
2:
OMD – Bauhaus Staircase (2023)
Really, this one should be #1, but I didn’t want to look like a homer. As explained in the full review of this album, OMD is my favorite band (after The Beach Boys), but that is not why Bauhaus Staircase landed where it did on this list. I say this repeatedly: Bauhaus Staircase is not a great album, because OMD is my favorite band, OMD is my favorite band, because they still make great albums like Bauhaus Staircase. Of the albums from the Reunion Era (post-2008), this effort is probably the most accessible for casual fans. They did sneak a ringer in: “Don’t Go,” one of their best singles ever, made the track listing after making its first appearance on the group’s singles box set, Souvenir, back in 2019.
1:
The Cure – Songs for a Lost World (2024)
What is The Cure’s best album? Well, that all depends on who you ask. The popular answer is Disintegration. Cure experts, including early adopters, would point you towards Seventeen Seconds or, better yet, Pornography. The correct answer, of course, is The Head on the Door.
The consensus on their 2024 release, Songs from a Lost World, is that this is the best Cure album since Disintegration. I’d say it’s the best since The Head on the Door. Sorry, Disintegration lovers. Sonically, it is closer to the latter, but the strength of songwriting is more in line with THOTD.
Three singles came from this one: “Alone,” “A Fragile Thing,” and “All I Ever Am.” Oddly, the album’s best track by far, “And Nothing is Forever,” was not released as a single. It definitely stands out from the other tracks. It could be because, as with many of the songs on the album, the vocals don’t start for quite some time. In this case, three minutes. Not radio-friendly. They could have made a radio or single edit, though, but that wouldn’t let the song come to life properly. In fact, the moments without Mad Bob’s distinct warble are really pretty great.
PF Wilson has been writing about music, TV, radio, and movies for over 20 years. He has also written about sports, business, and politics with his work appearing in Cincinnati CityBeat, The Houston Press, Cleveland Scene, Cincinnati Magazine, Cincy Magazine, Atomic Ranch, and many more. Check out his podcast PF’s Tape Recorder available from Podbean or in iTunes.