Introduction

Active since 2008 under the banner of post-punk and no wave, The Fallacy are a band like no other. Frontman Wang Xubo has never been shy about his devotion to the Australian post-punk outfit The Birthday Party, and the band’s explosive, convulsive style carries that legacy forward; combined with their freak-out saxophone work, they stand apart even within the Chinese rock scene.

According to Wang Xubo, what drew him to The Birthday Party is encapsulated in Nick Cave’s description of the band’s guitarist — a completely unique sound defined by sudden bursts of explosive noise, at once chaotic and strangely beautiful, something they had never heard before.

They have earned a loyal following among rock fans and are regulars at major music festivals. Personally, I’d go so far as to call them, at the very least, one of the best bands in East Asia.

Nowadays it’s not unusual for bands outside Beijing to operate on a national scale, though most are based in Shanghai, Guangzhou, or other major regional hubs. The Fallacy are a rare exception. Hailing from Xinxiang, a modest city in Henan Province far from the music industry’s centre of gravity, they are often regarded with curiosity. Wang Xubo’s day job as a newspaper journalist is often mentioned in the same breath.

In recent years, a remarkable number of exciting bands have emerged from Henan, with Xinxiang as their point of origin, carving out a distinctive presence within the broader Chinese rock scene. This piece turns its attention to that local scene, with The Fallacy at its centre.

Prologue: China’s Woodstock

On 11 April 1998, a rock festival billed as the “China New Music Concert” was held at Xinxiang Sports Center stadium. This landmark event featured Tang Dynasty and other leading figures of Chinese rock at the time, drawing 30,000 fans from across the country — an unprecedented gathering, unmatched even in Beijing at the time. Having been suppressed throughout much of the 1990s, rock was stepping back into the light. The second festival followed the next year. Later it was described as “China’s Woodstock”. The small city in Henan began to be spoken of as a holy site of Chinese rock, earning the nickname “Rock City”.

The concerts transformed not just Xinxiang’s external image, but the lives of its residents. With internet access still scarce and entertainment options limited, live rock performances began appearing everywhere — in public squares and on street corners, in shopping malls and even at noodle shop opening ceremonies. Kids started forming bands the same way others went to karaoke. The city’s comparatively high density of music stores and lesson studios today is a legacy of that era. Retired adults take up instruments and music permeates daily life. In Xinxiang, rock is neither exotic nor extraordinary — it is simply part of life.

Yet, despite all the fanfare, local musicians have mixed feelings about the “Rock City” label. The scene itself is much smaller. As in many other places, rock music never became a mainstream phenomenon here. It remains a niche genre and memories of the New Music Concert are slowly fading. That said, the pressure to play in a rock band and the cost of living are relatively low compared to other major cities, so unless you’re aspiring to “make it”, there’s definitely a sufficient environment here to enjoy music as a hobby.

Wang Xubo and His First Encounter with Rock (1999–2007)

Wang Xubo, who would go on to found The Fallacy, was among those whose lives were transformed by the China New Music Concert. As a high school student, his obsession with rock began with Tang Dynasty. Through the rock magazines that were launching in rapid succession at the time, he was drawn toward the underground music of New York. This was before the internet had taken hold, and most rock fans relied on print and appendix CDs. Those magazines leaned more toward romantic idealism than commercial calculation. His encounter with The Birthday Party appears to date from this period, and his literary sensibilities — often compared to Nick Cave’s — may well have been formed around the same time. He also made regular trips to Zhengzhou, the provincial capital of Henan, in search of rock CDs that couldn’t be found in Xinxiang.

Notebook: The Heart of Xinxiang’s Rock Scene, Xu Xiaodong and Neverland

One gathering place for rock enthusiasts in Xinxiang at the time was Xudong Audio-Visual, a shop stocking live videos of Western bands and other rare music media. After enrolling at a local university, Wang Xubo continued spending his days there. He and Xu Xiaodong, who took over the shop in 2004, close in age, they drank together late into the night, sometimes passing out in the shop until morning.

Xu Xiaodong had been organising live events for some time, but eventually felt the need for a dedicated venue. In 2010, he opened Ark Livehouse (later renamed Subark) — in all likelihood Xinxiang’s first rock-only live venue. The name carried a deliberate meaning: Noah’s Ark for all rock lovers. During regular hours it operated as a bar and hangout for rock fans; outside of those hours, local bands used it for rehearsal, or simply as a place to meet.

Xu Xiaodong, behind the counter, had a reputation for generosity — treating student bands to meals after their sets, and stubbornly refusing to raise beer prices for the sake of cash-strapped amateur musicians, to the point that customers worried about the bar’s financial health. In 2021, he relocated and expanded, reopening as Neverland, now capable of holding 800 people. It continues to operate today — a playground for eternal children, forever in love with rock, named after the land in Peter Pan.

It is people like Xu Xiaodong who hold these small, tight-knit scenes together. His investment goes well beyond running a venue; he actively works to grow and sustain the community.

One example: in 2013, he organised a student rock festival as its promoter. The idea was to give fledgling student bands a proper stage, while also bringing young audiences into contact with rock music. It somehow secured sponsorship from the Australian Embassy, and was held at Henan Normal University in the city, drawing 2,000 people. Framed as a public service event, all proceeds went to a local orphanage. It has since been held annually, moving between venues; by the fifth edition, held at Henan Institute of Science and Technology, the school itself encouraged student attendance and nearly 10,000 people showed up.

He has also maintained an annual event at his venue specifically featuring student bands — not because it’s profitable, but out of a genuine commitment to passing rock culture on to the next generation.

The Beginning of The Fallacy (2007–2013)

In 2007, still a university student, Wang Xubo happened to meet bassist Zhang Nan around town. The two hit it off, recruited Zhang Nan’s bandmate Sun Zhaowei as drummer, and formed the three-piece rock band. Nobody can quite remember the origin of the Chinese name (which translates roughly as “Crazy Doctor”), but the English name The Fallacy was apparently chosen because “Sick Doctor” or “Crazy Doctor” sounded too stupid.

In early 2008, Sun was replaced by Yang Baobin, a former member of Beijing’s influential post-punk band P.K.14. Yang runs a drum school in Xinxiang and also releases compilations of local bands on his own label — a quietly central figure in this small scene. Given his reputation as a skilled and versatile drummer, he was frequently called upon to help out short-staffed amateur bands at live shows, and his joining The Fallacy may well have come about in the same way. Whatever the case, it seems likely that his connections led to the band being invited to support P.K.14 at their Zhengzhou gig in August of that year — just months after they had properly got started.

Yang Haisheng, frontman of Beijing’s post-punk pioneers, was deeply impressed by the energy and originality of his former bandmate’s new band. He decided to recommend them to Modern Sky, the Beijing-based indie label to which P.K.14 was signed. The band surely heard about this and threw themselves into writing original material.

In 2010, the track “Rainwater Flows the Railway” was included on Modern Sky’s sampler compilation album Modern Sky 6, and the band performed at the label’s own festivals. A formal contract followed in 2011, along with the recording of their debut full-length album. This made them the first band from Henan to sign with the Beijing-based record company, and it was covered in the local press. Around this time, Wang Xubo took a job at Xinxiang’s newspaper.

In October 2011, their debut album The Terrible Silence, produced by Yang Haisong, was released. Its overt debt to The Birthday Party struck listeners as something fresh, and the band was received warmly as a distinctive new voice from outside Beijing.

The initial Modern Sky deal had the feel of a mentorship arrangement — an opportunity extended to young musicians from the regions — but by 2013 a full commercial contract had been signed, indicating that the label now regarded them as a nationally significant act. From around this time, their appearances at Modern Sky’s nationwide Strawberry Music Festival became more frequent.

Notebook: The Fallacy and Pumpkins

After the album’s release, Yang Baobin was succeeded by Dali (Zhan Like), a drummer from Pumpkins.

Pumpkins were formed in 2009, and alongside The Fallacy represent one of the twin pillars of the Xinxiang rock scene. Unlike The Fallacy, they lean toward straight-up punk rock ‘n’ roll, and in 2015 they recorded an album under the supervision of Marky Ramone at Hansa Studio. They too were regulars at Xudong Audio-Visual, and made Ark their home base. Dali had gone to Ark to watch a The Fallacy show in 2012, got drawn in by Pumpkins — who were also on the bill that night — and ended up joining the band. It’s a small world.

Guitarist Zhao Sen is known as a devoted fan of Thee Michelle Gun Elephant, and reveres Abe Futoushi as a guitar god. He used to run his family’s restaurant while playing in the band; more recently, he opened a milk tea shop. His personal record collection lines the walls, though he admits that playing city pop over city pop generates better sales than rock.

Second Album and Nationwide Tour (2014–2017)

In 2014, the band released their second album, Debris. Partly to keep recording costs down, the album was made at Yang Haisong’s private studio, Psychic Kong Studio. One of the tracks, “Face to Face”, is dedicated to Li Lin, the vocalist of Pumpkins, who was killed in a car accident the previous year; the title references a tattoo he had.

At the end of that year, a major tour of 21 cities was organised to coincide with the album’s release. Wang Xubo reportedly petitioned his editor at the newspaper for 40 days of special leave — and got it. A heartwarming detail.

Drummer Li Xin, who also plays in one of Zhang Nan’s other bands, joined the lineup during this period and continues to hold that seat today, running his own drum school in Xinxiang on the side.

Apparently inspired by Yang Haisong’s private studio setup, bassist Zhang Nan — who has a background as a recording engineer — converted the basement of his home into a recording studio called Sub-Sound Lab Studio. Many local bands have recorded there, and the space also serves as The Fallacy’s rehearsal room. For bands in a small provincial city, having access to a resource like this is invaluable.

Wang Xubo’s literary tastes surface throughout The Fallacy’s work. The lyrics to “The Balcony”, from Debris, draw directly from an English translation of Baudelaire’s Le balcon, the 19th-century French poet he loves most. The band’s aggressive, convulsive delivery amplifies and overloads the quiet undercurrents of the original poem, suggesting both a deep understanding of the source material and genuine creative intent. The 2016 single “Hush-A-Bye” quotes Yeats, and one suspects that literary allusions run deeper through the catalogue than most listeners have noticed.

Maturity and Evolution (2017–2020)

The third album, Above the Neck, Below the Bridge, released in 2017, showed a shift toward production values over the raw, one-take documentary feel of the earlier records — a change that may reflect the experience accumulated through the Sub-Sound Lab sessions. Lyrically, Chinese began to appear alongside and eventually overtake English, suggesting a shift in how Wang Xubo thought about expression and communication. The album’s title comes from a phrase by The Birthday Party guitarist Rowland S. Howard — some things never change.

Transformation (2020–2022)

In 2020, The Fallacy added a fourth member for the first time since their formation: Li Zenghui, a saxophonist from Qingdao who is active in Beijing’s experimental and avant-garde music scene. They were connected through mutual acquaintances and shared a sensibility towards music and creativity, which led naturally to Li joining the band.

Recording for the fourth album, See You on the Other Side of Darkness, took place at the end of that year, with the album released in 2021. Li’s saxophone immediately introduced shades of loft jazz into the sound, opening up new dimensions within the band’s established post-punk framework — though it’s worth noting that saxophone had already appeared in previous work, and given the band’s no wave inclinations, this evolution feels less like a departure than a natural deepening.

The lyrics had by now shifted comprehensively into Chinese — whether to reach more domestic listeners, or because there were things that simply couldn’t be said in a second language, probably both. Wang Xubo’s vocal delivery also seemed to reflect a greater awareness of communication as an act. Li Zenghui’s role as second vocalist — and unofficial mascot — was firmly established.

Notebook: What It Means to Be a Local Band

In 2021, record-breaking rainfall caused severe flooding across Henan Province. Rock musicians from the region rallied together, calling on one another to support disaster relief efforts. The story attracted coverage across national media, and prompted many to think more consciously about what it means for a rock band to be rooted in a specific place.

Neverland and Beyond (2023–2026)

The 2023 album — their fifth, and the first to share the band’s own name — marked 15 years since formation. Musically, it pushes further the chemistry first ignited on the previous record; Li Zenghui’s saxophone now functions less as an added colour and more as a structural element, reorganising the band’s sound from within. Post-punk remains the foundation, but noise, free jazz, and experimental textures are woven through it organically. It is the band’s finest work to date, and in every sense a culmination. The closing track, “Neverland”, is the most direct expression of that summation: Li Zenghui recites the titles of every song the band has released, in sequence. The title is also the name of the live venue that has grown with them — a reminder that The Fallacy and the city of Xinxiang are inseparable. Fifteen years on, they are still the kids who fell hopelessly in love with rock music.

From that year’s tour onward, Duan Dandong joined as a second guitarist, and as of 2026 the band operates as a five-piece.

Nearly three years have passed since their last album. Given that The Fallacy have released records with consistent regularity, it would be no stretch of optimism to expect new music from them sometime this year.

CCLIVE and What Comes Next

In March 2025, Xinxiang musician Lao Hei launched CCLIVE, a live-streaming project that bills itself as the Chinese KEXP. The original plan had been to build a rehearsal studio with friends, but midway through, the idea evolved into something more ambitious: a platform for ongoing music broadcasting. A rehearsal room was rented inside a music school in Xinxiang; equipment was contributed bit by bit by the members, with shortfalls covered collectively.

The close visual resemblance to KEXP’s setup has led some to dismiss it as a knockoff. The team’s response: if getting called a rip-off drives traffic to the artists who appear on the channel, they’ll take the controversy. In practice, the backlash never quite materialised.

The Fallacy are not directly involved in operations, but appeared early on as close friends of the project. That session was later released on streaming services, broadening the project’s reach. Showing up as a band is itself a form of support.

In its early days, the lineup centred on local Henan acts — The Fallacy, Today’s Production, Muzzy Mam, Pumpkins, and others. Gradually, acts from other regions have begun to appear as well, stopping by during tours through Henan, or reaching out after discovering the project online. The whole thing runs on no budget to speak of, sustained entirely by the enthusiasm and out-of-pocket contributions of the people involved.

Notebook: Five Bands, Six Musicians

That same year, Wang Xubo and Zhang Nan formed Muzzy Mam together with members of Pumpkins and Why Lazy. Whether it’s down to the small pool of rock musicians or something particular to the temperament of people from Henan, doubling up across bands simultaneously — is a frequently cited hallmark of the Xinxiang scene. There’s a running joke — possibly based on a true story — about going to a local show with five bands on the bill, only to find that the total number of distinct musicians across all of them is six.

More to Come

The Fallacy’s new album is expected to be released later this year. Wang Xubo’s new band, “Threefold Voice”, plays socially engaged post-punk in the style of early Fallacy, with echoes of the relationship between P.K.14 and the Li Gaote Quartet. The original Fallacy drummer, Yang Baobin, is involved. An announcement is also expected of a new project to support the production and recording of emerging bands.

The heat of Xinxiang’s small scene is spreading outward. A new wave — something that might now be called the Henan scene — is taking shape. Bands worth your attention: The Columbian Cola Ltd., Wishtoday, Jimmy’s Guess.

→ Chinese Postpunk Anthology