Primed by London Calling for the reluctant genre to open itself up to its place in the grand rock’n’roll lineage, the 1980s opened it up to folk traditions and fantastical lyricism, while punk opened up traditional music to the delight of slurred singing and unthinkable abrasions.
This was the time when Kathleen Brennan implored Tom Waits to dig a much deeper hole in Captain Beefheart’s quarry and Nick Cave to magnify the gothic elements of “Long Black Veil” and “Hey Joe” rather than the tunes. The richness of roughness was revitalizing tradition, and this trick still very much works; just check Lankum’s 2023 thrill-horror version of “Go Dig My Grave.” The rowdy speeds of traditional Irish folk and blistering punk proved to be indistinguishable from each…

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