Obscure indie ROCK

Zinke · 03-21-2005, 07:01 PM

I capitalized 'rock' in my title because I want to specify that I'm looking for things with a bit more edge to them (not hardcore!).

I really like mellow stuff (Death Cab 4 Cutie, Shins, Decemberists, Snow Patrol, Pinback etc..) but I rarely find good, less mainstream bands that have more of an edge and faster tempo.

Anyways, lemme list some of the stuff I'm talking about and see if any of the music gurus here can recommend some stuff to check out. Amazon.com's recommendation system just doesn't realize I like this stuff.. I get good recommendations like Broken Social Scene for mellowness, based off my likes/dislikes, and then good hip-hop, but it doesn't seem to want to give me any thing like these bands:

The Killers
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
The Libertines
The Strokes
Franz Ferdinand
Guided by Voices
Kings of Leon
Lost Prophets
Jet
(btw: these are semi-ranked from favorite to least favorite)

With the GBV and Libertines exceptions, most of that is pretty mainstream now. I have no problem with mainstream music, but I end up getting tired of it quickly because I listen to it on my own and then hear it on the radio to boot.

Anyone got some similar bands to recommend that aren't yet all over the place?

Yeta · 03-22-2005, 12:05 AM

Bloc Party, the Pharmacists
edit: and maybe the Decemberists
And Interpol for the more mainstream

Zinke · 03-22-2005, 01:05 AM

Ted Leo and the Pharmacists are good. Shake the Streets is good. Heart of Oak is a little spotty.

Interpol, love em. I was going to include them but figured they were a little different stylisticly.

Decemberists I file under the more mellow type. But, yea I like them too.

Bloc Party, I haven't heard of, so I'll check em out

Ham n Cheese · 03-22-2005, 08:27 AM

Wilco
Catherine Wheel
Dntel
Iron & Wine
Neutral Milk Hotel
The Walkmen
The Wrens

Zinke · 03-22-2005, 10:38 AM

I'll check out Catherine Wheel. The name sounds familiar, didn't they have some hit years ago on the radio?

Rathmort · 03-22-2005, 11:25 AM

Bloc Party for the win. Try the songs So Here We Are, Helicopter, and Banquet. All from the album 'Silent Alarm'.

Also could try The Music, Kaiser Chiefs, and Embrace. I'm personally not a fan of Embrace's newer tracks (Gravity, Ashes) but the get a good reception on the indie radio stations here.

-[Ao1]-Nemesis · 03-22-2005, 01:04 PM

Don't know if you are familiar with it or not but www.musicplasma.com is an extremely awesome website to use. You type in a group you like and it attempts to link other bands that are similar to it with the band you selected. It also lists the albums they've popped out and such.

For example, I searched the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and I got things like My Morning Jacket, The New Pornographers (extremely excellent), The Flaming Lips, Interpol, etc. Now those are the bands I can recommend and of course it lists about 20 others.

Ham n Cheese · 03-22-2005, 03:58 PM

That site must be good, you search the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and it gives you 4 semi-semilar but much better bands! I'll have to check it out

Quote:

I'll check out Catherine Wheel. The name sounds familiar, didn't they have some hit years ago on the radio?

Don't be afraid of the others because you haven't heard them. I assure I give you nothing but gold

Tea on tuesday · 03-22-2005, 05:13 PM

Check out OKGO selftitled album. It's pretty rockin'. They aren't really indie though, seeing as they are on Capitol Records. But the sound is pretty badass.

If you want some real indie rock. I must emphasise the awesomeness that is The Fiery Furnaces.

Jimmee · 03-22-2005, 05:14 PM

Deerhoof - a slightly mad but otherwise rather poppy band (most akin to the Yeah Yeah Yeahs from your list)

The Flaming Lips - yoshimi battle pink robots was a bit rubbish, their slightly older stuff from The Soft Bulletin and Clouds Taste Metallic is amazing though (if you can find it, download Kim's Watermelon Gun)

Mercury Rev - Their first album (Boces) is quite demented noise pop, their later stuff is really good too, but it sounds like you might prefer the Boces/Yerself Is Steam era stuff.

Belle and Sebastian - You'll probably either love them or hate them, they don't exactly have an "edge," just lots of amazingly twee songs (avoid anything off Storytelling and to a lesser extend Fold Your Hands Child at first.)

The Shins - *Edit - I'm an idiot, missed them in your first post. Lets just pretend I said My Morning Jacket instead*

The Unicorns - the slightly more fucked up chums of The Shins

Xiu Xiu - A bit like Morrisey from the Smiths, on drugs, playing keyboard (Fabulous Muscles is a great album.)

Casiotone for the Painfully Alone - The keyboards after the drugs wear off, great band name.

Bloc Party - they are quite good, a little overated IMO, but a great deal of other people disagree so they're definately worth a listen

The Bravery - As above, except I don't like them at all.

The Futureheads - the best band to come out of the recent wave of British guitar bands. Try downloading their cover of Hounds of Love, or maybe First Day.

Low - Very melancholy, but you can't have a list of good indie rock without Low!

Of Montreal - I've only heard Satanic Panic In The Attic, but I think it's great.

Ash - Pop punk the way it should be done (well, their first and third album anyway.) Try downloading Kung Fu, Girl from Mars or Burn Baby Burn.

The Polyphonic Spree - Big choir/orchestra pop, I think they're genius, other people think they're awful. Try listening to Soldier Girl, Reach For The Sun or (if you can) the whole of Together We're Heavy.

And I agree with Ham and Cheese on the recommendations of Wilco, Neutral Milk Hotel and The Walkmen (I've not heard the others yet.)

And finally (ish) I suggest Mew. Try downloading Am I Wry? No, 156 or She Came Home For Christmas. Their album was largely agree upon as being amazing (though it's title, Frengers, is almost universally slagged off for being shite, which it is!)

For my proper finally. Try to locate a copy of the british music weekly NME. They spew out so many "best new band ever"s each week that you're bound to find one or two decent bands (among a great big fountain of shite admitedly.)

Jimmee · 03-22-2005, 05:20 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Tea on tuesday
If you want some real indie rock. I must emphasise the awesomeness that is The Fiery Furnaces.

Blueberry Boat is a weird album. Every second time I listen to it, it sounds awful and I can't believe such a bad album was ever released. But every other time I'm convinced that the album is a work of genius and I can't understand how I could possibly have hated it the last time.

Oh, and I forgot to throw in Explosions In The Sky, seeing as I refrained from plugging post rock for a whole post I thought I could get away with one! Try downloading The Only Moment We Are (or Were, I'm not 100% on that) Alone, it's brilliant.

Tea on tuesday · 03-22-2005, 05:54 PM

Quote:

Blueberry Boat is a weird album. Every second time I listen to it, it sounds awful and I can't believe such a bad album was ever released. But every other time I'm convinced that the album is a work of genius and I can't understand how I could possibly have hated it the last time.

I had that same thing going on for the first 5 or 6 times I listened to it, but now I just marvel at it. The first time I heard it I thought it was probably the worst music ever made, yet now I litterally cannot stop listening to the album. Personally, I think Blueberry Boat is the most artistically proficient album of the decade.

Ham n Cheese · 03-22-2005, 06:12 PM

I was going to recommend Xiu Xiu but he seems to have as many people dislike his music as like. Not for everyone that's for sure, I love Fabulous Muscles though.

agris · 03-22-2005, 10:04 PM

I'm going to chime in on the MusicPlasma plug, it's a great way to find great bands that are similar to what you enjoy.

As for recomendations:

Black Mountain

New Pornographers "Mass Romantic" is such a catchy album it's rediculous. Some one earlier said Neutral Milk Hotel, which is a great suggestion, especially if you like lo-fi or kind of fuzzy-guitar music.

Olivia Tremor Control's "Dusk at Cubist Castle" should be familiar to anyone who can sing along comfortably to The White Album.

ps if any of you are interested in hearing one of these bands but don't know how, go get soulseek and PM me.

Zinke · 03-23-2005, 12:05 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Ham n Cheese

Don't be afraid of the others because you haven't heard them. I assure I give you nothing but gold

no no, I already have all the others actually

Iron & Wine is ok, but once again real mellow.

I had Neutral Milk Hotel awhile ago, didn't like them much.

Dntel.. I liked Postal Service, but Dntel didn't catch me as much. Maybe I need to listen to them more, but haven't wanted to.

Wilco, Walkmen and Wrens I haven't given alot of time to yet. They are all in my new batch of music recently downloaded that hasn't yet grown on me.

edit: I forgot about musicplasma, thanks for the suggestion everyone

03-21-2005, 07:01 PM	#1 (permalink)
Zinke I think I'm drunk enough to drive you home. Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: What is, is. Posts: 2,458 +0 Internets	Obscure indie ROCK I capitalized 'rock' in my title because I want to specify that I'm looking for things with a bit more edge to them (not hardcore!). I really like mellow stuff (Death Cab 4 Cutie, Shins, Decemberists, Snow Patrol, Pinback etc..) but I rarely find good, less mainstream bands that have more of an edge and faster tempo. Anyways, lemme list some of the stuff I'm talking about and see if any of the music gurus here can recommend some stuff to check out. Amazon.com's recommendation system just doesn't realize I like this stuff.. I get good recommendations like Broken Social Scene for mellowness, based off my likes/dislikes, and then good hip-hop, but it doesn't seem to want to give me any thing like these bands: The Killers Yeah Yeah Yeahs The Libertines The Strokes Franz Ferdinand Guided by Voices Kings of Leon Lost Prophets Jet (btw: these are semi-ranked from favorite to least favorite) With the GBV and Libertines exceptions, most of that is pretty mainstream now. I have no problem with mainstream music, but I end up getting tired of it quickly because I listen to it on my own and then hear it on the radio to boot. Anyone got some similar bands to recommend that aren't yet all over the place?

03-22-2005, 12:05 AM	#2 (permalink)
Yeta Registered User Join Date: May 2002 Location: Portland, OR Posts: 494 +0 Internets	Bloc Party, the Pharmacists edit: and maybe the Decemberists And Interpol for the more mainstream Last edited by Yeta : 03-22-2005 at 12:09 AM.

03-22-2005, 05:14 PM	#10 (permalink)
Jimmee Tragedy by the railway tracks Join Date: Dec 2002 Posts: 565 -1 Internets	Deerhoof - a slightly mad but otherwise rather poppy band (most akin to the Yeah Yeah Yeahs from your list) The Flaming Lips - yoshimi battle pink robots was a bit rubbish, their slightly older stuff from The Soft Bulletin and Clouds Taste Metallic is amazing though (if you can find it, download Kim's Watermelon Gun) Mercury Rev - Their first album (Boces) is quite demented noise pop, their later stuff is really good too, but it sounds like you might prefer the Boces/Yerself Is Steam era stuff. Belle and Sebastian - You'll probably either love them or hate them, they don't exactly have an "edge," just lots of amazingly twee songs (avoid anything off Storytelling and to a lesser extend Fold Your Hands Child at first.) The Shins - Edit - I'm an idiot, missed them in your first post. Lets just pretend I said My Morning Jacket instead The Unicorns - the slightly more fucked up chums of The Shins Xiu Xiu - A bit like Morrisey from the Smiths, on drugs, playing keyboard (Fabulous Muscles is a great album.) Casiotone for the Painfully Alone - The keyboards after the drugs wear off, great band name. Bloc Party - they are quite good, a little overated IMO, but a great deal of other people disagree so they're definately worth a listen The Bravery - As above, except I don't like them at all. The Futureheads - the best band to come out of the recent wave of British guitar bands. Try downloading their cover of Hounds of Love, or maybe First Day. Low - Very melancholy, but you can't have a list of good indie rock without Low! Of Montreal - I've only heard Satanic Panic In The Attic, but I think it's great. Ash - Pop punk the way it should be done (well, their first and third album anyway.) Try downloading Kung Fu, Girl from Mars or Burn Baby Burn. The Polyphonic Spree - Big choir/orchestra pop, I think they're genius, other people think they're awful. Try listening to Soldier Girl, Reach For The Sun or (if you can) the whole of Together We're Heavy. And I agree with Ham and Cheese on the recommendations of Wilco, Neutral Milk Hotel and The Walkmen (I've not heard the others yet.) And finally (ish) I suggest Mew. Try downloading Am I Wry? No, 156 or She Came Home For Christmas. Their album was largely agree upon as being amazing (though it's title, Frengers, is almost universally slagged off for being shite, which it is!) For my proper finally. Try to locate a copy of the british music weekly NME. They spew out so many "best new band ever"s each week that you're bound to find one or two decent bands (among a great big fountain of shite admitedly.) Last edited by Jimmee : 03-22-2005 at 05:27 PM.

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03-22-2005, 01:05 AM	#3 (permalink)
Zinke I think I'm drunk enough to drive you home. Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: What is, is. Posts: 2,458 +0 Internets	Ted Leo and the Pharmacists are good. Shake the Streets is good. Heart of Oak is a little spotty. Interpol, love em. I was going to include them but figured they were a little different stylisticly. Decemberists I file under the more mellow type. But, yea I like them too. Bloc Party, I haven't heard of, so I'll check em out

03-22-2005, 08:27 AM	#4 (permalink)
Ham n Cheese You can betray me Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Houston Posts: 8,887 +19 Internets	Wilco Catherine Wheel Dntel Iron & Wine Neutral Milk Hotel The Walkmen The Wrens

03-22-2005, 10:38 AM	#5 (permalink)
Zinke I think I'm drunk enough to drive you home. Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: What is, is. Posts: 2,458 +0 Internets	I'll check out Catherine Wheel. The name sounds familiar, didn't they have some hit years ago on the radio?

03-22-2005, 11:25 AM	#6 (permalink)
Rathmort Registered User Join Date: Dec 2002 Posts: 255 -7 Internets	Bloc Party for the win. Try the songs So Here We Are, Helicopter, and Banquet. All from the album 'Silent Alarm'. Also could try The Music, Kaiser Chiefs, and Embrace. I'm personally not a fan of Embrace's newer tracks (Gravity, Ashes) but the get a good reception on the indie radio stations here.

03-22-2005, 01:04 PM	#7 (permalink)
-[Ao1]-Nemesis Giant member Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Blacksburg, VA Posts: 119 +0 Internets	Don't know if you are familiar with it or not but www.musicplasma.com is an extremely awesome website to use. You type in a group you like and it attempts to link other bands that are similar to it with the band you selected. It also lists the albums they've popped out and such. For example, I searched the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and I got things like My Morning Jacket, The New Pornographers (extremely excellent), The Flaming Lips, Interpol, etc. Now those are the bands I can recommend and of course it lists about 20 others.

03-22-2005, 05:13 PM	#9 (permalink)
Tea on tuesday Registered User Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Kentucky Posts: 1,677 +27 Internets	Check out OKGO selftitled album. It's pretty rockin'. They aren't really indie though, seeing as they are on Capitol Records. But the sound is pretty badass. If you want some real indie rock. I must emphasise the awesomeness that is The Fiery Furnaces.

03-22-2005, 06:12 PM	#13 (permalink)
Ham n Cheese You can betray me Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Houston Posts: 8,887 +19 Internets	I was going to recommend Xiu Xiu but he seems to have as many people dislike his music as like. Not for everyone that's for sure, I love Fabulous Muscles though.

03-22-2005, 10:04 PM	#14 (permalink)
agris tigUle + fOror = Tigole + Furor Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: st. simons Posts: 148 +0 Internets	I'm going to chime in on the MusicPlasma plug, it's a great way to find great bands that are similar to what you enjoy. As for recomendations: Black Mountain New Pornographers "Mass Romantic" is such a catchy album it's rediculous. Some one earlier said Neutral Milk Hotel, which is a great suggestion, especially if you like lo-fi or kind of fuzzy-guitar music. Olivia Tremor Control's "Dusk at Cubist Castle" should be familiar to anyone who can sing along comfortably to The White Album. ps if any of you are interested in hearing one of these bands but don't know how, go get soulseek and PM me.