When Talk Talk started out in 1981, they followed in the footsteps of Duran Duran and other New Romantic artists with glossy international hits like “Talk Talk,” “Today,” “Such a Shame,” and “It’s My Life.” And while those are certainly great songs, Mark Hollis and his bandmates were clearly interested in something deeper and more substantial than pop stardom.

With their final albums — 1988’s Spirit of Eden and 1991’s Laughing Stock — Talk Talk eschewed pop music altogether and instead embraced jazz and classical music in a highly improvisational manner that laid the foundation for today’s post-rock. The music on those albums is certainly more obtuse than Talk Talk’s earlier singles, which no doubt caused considerable consternation for record label execs who had no idea how to market the band’s new material. But it’s also timeless, transcending charts and trends.

“New Grass,” the penultimate song on Laughing Stock, finds Hollis’ poignant voice and cryptic lyrics drifting over jazz-like drumming, elegant piano melodies, pining organs, and other scattered instrumentation. “New Grass” feels like it could come apart at any moment, but it keeps going further up and further in, sweeping the listener along to a gorgeous new country.