Pylon

Despite failing to equal the commercial success or cross-cultural impact of their Athens, Georgia compatriots R.E.M. and the B-52's, Pylon's influence on the city's legendary music scene proved just as pronounced -- the group's propulsive, angular jangle pop sound resonated not only within the Athens creative community but throughout the American pop underground of the '80s, and their role as elder statesmen of the alternative rock explosion is unassailable. Their first two albums -- 1980's Gyrate and 1983's Chomp -- are both essential documents of the nascent American independent rock era, while 2016's Pylon Live is a fine document of how the band sounded on-stage. Released in 2020, the Pylon Box included singles and rarities in addition to newly remastered editions of their first two LPs.