Pere Ubu have never been popular, but that's not to say they aren't successful. On the contrary, the Cleveland art-punk innovators have four influential decades under their belts since forming in 1975. '80s new wave may have been very different without Pere Ubu's 1978 debut This Modern Dance, and indie rock pioneers like The Pixies were directly inspired by 1988's The Tenement Year. Led by eccentric frontman David Thomas, the band have continued to innovate upon their self-coined "avant-garage" sound well into the '00s, with 2014's Carnival of Souls, their 18th LP.