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The post-punk revival is a paradigm shift in modern rock music consisting of Indie Rock, Punk Rock, Goth Rock, and Electronic bands that draw from the conventions of the original Post-Punk sound of the early 1980s, as well as the early 90's Britpop, 80's New Wave and 60's Garage rock movements. Yet it is also an extension of and reaction to the Pop-punk, and Alternative Rock music of the 1990s. The movement began and is most prominent in English speaking countries such as the US, the UK, and various Mainland European countries, and has been especially tied to the New York City and London music scenes. Though more recently Post-Punk acts have been appearing in countries as diverse as Japan, Indonesia, Australia, Lebanon, and Russia.

Originally, the term "post-punk" was coined to describe those groups which in the late seventies and early eighties took punk and started to experiment with more challenging musical structures, lyrical themes, and a self-consciously art-based image, while retaining punk's initial iconoclastic stance. Classic examples of post-punk outfits include Gang of Four, Joy Division, The Raincoats, and Wire.

At the turn of the century, the term "post-punk" began to appear in the music press again, with a number of critics reviving the label to describe a new set of bands that shared some of the aesthetics of the original post-punk era. The Rapture, Liars, and Interpol were the first commercially successful projects to revive media interest in the movement.[1] A reevaluation of the sonic conventions from that era, this second wave of post-punk incorporates elements of the dance and indie music of the late-1980s and 1990s in much the same way that the original post-punk movement was informed by the krautrock, dub, and disco music of the 1970s. Music critic Simon Reynolds notes that these bands generally draw influence from the more angular strain of post-punk bands such as Wire and Gang of Four.[2]

As this revival continued to pick up steam, even more influences could be heard in new bands, besides the aforementioned angular sounds. Many of the more recent post-punk revival bands have been informed by a diverse range of original post-punk music. Ranging from the ethereal guitar textures of bands like The Chameleons to Sad Lovers and Giants. Quirkier, more eccentric artists like Magazine, Josef K, and The Monochrome Set. Noisy Art-punk bands like The Birthday Party, The Fall, and The Pop Group. Even more analog electronic groups such as Fad Gadget, early Human League, and Tuxedomoon can be heard in many of the most recent revival bands.

The use of the term "post-punk" to describe two distinct waves of rock music, despite their many differences, has stuck. It is legitimized not only by the broad consensus that has emerged to call the groups listed here post-punk but also by the historical positions of each movement, relative to the dominant punk rock music of their respective eras. The first form of post-punk was seen as a response to late-1970s punk rock; the twenty-first century variant as a response to 1990s punk rock.

Earlier attempts to revive the term "post-punk" were not successful. In the early-1990s some critics referred to groups like Fugazi and Girls Against Boys as "post-punk" without this label gaining widespread use. The phrase describing their sound was later changed to the more accurate term post-hardcore.

Unlike the original post-punk artists, who were often deliberately difficult and obtuse, many of the more successful bands in the post-punk revival have been more accessible and radio-friendly, leading some to claim that they are not stylisic torchbearers of the post-punk style but are instead simply a variant within the dominant commercial style of rock music. However there is still a large number of underground bands that take the Post-Punk ethic to heart, and create introspective, and often politically charged music.

See list of post-punk bands for a list of post-punk and the derivative post-punk revival bands.