Hello.. my name is Waza and I just joined this forum. Its great to see that there are so many people listening to indie rock and participating in discussions about non-maintream bands.
I like indie rock in general, but because this genre of music is so vague and includes many different styles of rock seperate from the mainstream, its often hard for me to find the type of indie rock that appeals to me. Please help me with this!!
Some of the bands that I really like include Built to Spill, Dinosaur Jr., Chavez, Death Cab for Cutie, Of Montreal, Love Drug (not sure if they are indie), Bell and Sebastian, Sufjan Stevens, Andrew Bird and etc.
I would be really grateful if you guys could recommend to me some music, bands and albums that constitute a lot of melody, guitar riffs and good vocals. I dont really like the type of indie rock where the vocal just keeps on droning on and on and where there is absolutely no, or very little, melody. I prefer music that has a lot of great guitar/bass riffs. Please help me out! Thanks!
Guessing from what you've listened to (and since you like Built To Spill), I'd say you've probably already heard My Morning Jacket. If you have and didn't dig it much, I'd suggest you take another listen if you like music with great guitar riffs. I'd go with Z from My Morning Jacket. You should check out Band of Horses too. Fairly similiar to BtS and MMJ. Good Stuff.
I'd also throw in The Hold Steady's Boys and Girls in America just becuase it's got massive hooks.
Posts: 1376 | Location: Valparaiso, IN | Registered: 01 July 2006
I didn't see you mention Yo La Tengo, but Ira Kaplan has to be one of the best guitarists in indie rock. And I think if you like BTS, you'd probably dig them a lot. This year's I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass is pretty good, but I still prefer their mid to late 90s output (Electr-O-Pura through And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside Out).
You may also like Rogue Wave, who sound a little like DCFC, only about 100 times better.
A 2006 release I'd recommend to you is Joseph Arthur's Nuclear Daydream.
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----- We were wasps with new wings, now we're bugs in the jar.
Posts: 5486 | Location: Michigan | Registered: 19 June 2005
You've probably listened to the Shins, but if not...
I'll say Islands - Return to the Sea has some of the catchiest, most fun loving songs of the year. Definitely one of my favorites and melodies galore.
I second the MMJ recomendation.
Also, for guitar based rock and hook-filled songs I think there is no better recommendation than Spoon - Gimme Fiction. That album is amazing, although you may already know it.
Maybe Broken Social Scene too.
Best of luck and I hope you enjoy.
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I fell in love with the first cute girl that I met.
Posts: 751 | Location: Nova Scotia | Registered: 31 May 2006
I'd try The Arcade Fire or Wolf Parade. If you're feeling adventurous then also Animal Collective. I've seen them compared to Of Montreal, personally I don't see it but that isn't the point. You might also want to try this site out www.pandora.com It's free and you don't have to sign up for it. Essentially you can enter in artists that you like to "create a radio station" and the program will try to suggest other groups that you might like based upon specific musical qualities of the music you already like. It's pretty neat.
I would suggest some Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, some Broken Social Scene, and to round all that out, some Wilco. All very rad bands.
------ Aren't there any girls out their who like good music? I need to and want to meet them. My favorite bands are Overkill River, The Nife, Songs:Ohio, and Nuetral Milk Hotel. Please let me know if your into indy music and like to go to show's and drink beer's and makeout.
Posts: 2314 | Location: ATL-abouts. | Registered: 24 October 2006
Originally posted by jonathanbrisby: I'd try The Arcade Fire or Wolf Parade. If you're feeling adventurous then also Animal Collective. I've seen them compared to Of Montreal, personally I don't see it but that isn't the point. You might also want to try this site out www.pandora.com It's free and you don't have to sign up for it. Essentially you can enter in artists that you like to "create a radio station" and the program will try to suggest other groups that you might like based upon specific musical qualities of the music you already like. It's pretty neat.
I'm going to have to disagree with jon on this one, because I think I can save you a few minutes of your time, or possibly even some money. I'm not saying that they're bad, I'm saying that if you like the bands listed above, the chances of you liking a band like Animal Collective is tiny. AC is highly experimental, there really aren't any lyrics, and they're more of an "atmosphere" band than a melody driven band. Hope it helps.
Posts: 174 | Location: My Tree | Registered: 15 December 2005
I'm going to have to disagree with jon on this one, because I think I can save you a few minutes of your time, or possibly even some money. I'm not saying that they're bad, I'm saying that if you like the bands listed above, the chances of you liking a band like Animal Collective is tiny. AC is highly experimental, there really aren't any lyrics, and they're more of an "atmosphere" band than a melody driven band. Hope it helps.
I agree. Your chance of liking the artists Waza mentioned and liking Animal Collective are somewhere between slim and none. "Good guitar riffs and vocals" doesn't describe Animal Collective at all. You might as well recommend the new Scott Walker album.
----- We were wasps with new wings, now we're bugs in the jar.
Posts: 5486 | Location: Michigan | Registered: 19 June 2005
I would definitely second the New Pornographers recommendation. I'd go with their 2005 release, "Twin Cinema", but really any of their albums are good.
In terms of the Spoon recommendation, I'll just put out there that I'd personally recommend "Girls Can Tell" over "Gimme Fiction", but both of them (as well as "Kill the Moonlight") are great.
You might also enjoy some Fountains of Wayne (of "Stacy's Mom" fame) - they've got some insanely catchy somgs.
As for a group that sounds like B&S, Camera Obscura is a good bet. I haven't heard their other album, but "Let's Get Out of This Country" is pretty good.
Wolf Parade is also a very catchy band - but you might not like them depending on how you feel about the vocals. If you don't mind the vocals of Modest Mouse, you'll probably like Wolf Parade.
Anyways, that's all I can think of for now. Hopefully this helps you out!
www.myspace.com/mybandowen 1st and 3rd songs are amazing. mike is the best all around musician making good music.
Owen is great. I'm looking forward to his new record.
wow i didn't know we had another owen fan here. i've heard the new record (and my polyvinyl preorder should be here shortly) and i love it. there's a cover on it which i don't like, but all the original songs are great. he continues to tweak his songs from record to record in slight but wonderful ways. and this record wasn't soley produced in his mom's house, so it sounds better than his other records, too. it's one of my favorites from this year for sure.
Posts: 171 | Location: Phoenix | Registered: 05 September 2004
I wasn't necessarily recommending Animal Collective, although I love them. I was just saying that I've seen some reviewers compare them to Olivia Tremor Control and Of Montreal before. I also said right after that that I don't personally see the comparison as accurate. However, you guys who know me better will attest that anytime I can recommend something a little more "out there" or avant-garde that I will do so. I also pointed in the direction of The Arcade Fire and Wolf Parade, which I felt were safer choices given the list of favorites that were posted.
Originally posted by jonathanbrisby: I'd try The Arcade Fire or Wolf Parade. If you're feeling adventurous then also Animal Collective. I've seen them compared to Of Montreal, personally I don't see it but that isn't the point. You might also want to try this site out www.pandora.com It's free and you don't have to sign up for it. Essentially you can enter in artists that you like to "create a radio station" and the program will try to suggest other groups that you might like based upon specific musical qualities of the music you already like. It's pretty neat.
I'm going to have to disagree with jon on this one, because I think I can save you a few minutes of your time, or possibly even some money. I'm not saying that they're bad, I'm saying that if you like the bands listed above, the chances of you liking a band like Animal Collective is tiny. AC is highly experimental, there really aren't any lyrics, and they're more of an "atmosphere" band than a melody driven band. Hope it helps.
i would definitely agree that animal collective is more experimental and out there than most of the bands mentioned here, but they are very melody driven in my opinion. if you listen to the melodies on Sung Tongs and Feels, i think they have some of the most interesting melodies i've ever heard....particularly for the vocals. that's one of their biggest appeals....unique melodies. they're definitely atmospheric, but their melodies are key.
in addition, i think animal collective's progression into more of a rock band has made them much more accessible, so i think they're a good recommendation....then again, they're one of my favorites by far, so i'm sorta biased.
I'm going to have to disagree with jon on this one, because I think I can save you a few minutes of your time, or possibly even some money. I'm not saying that they're bad, I'm saying that if you like the bands listed above, the chances of you liking a band like Animal Collective is tiny. AC is highly experimental, there really aren't any lyrics, and they're more of an "atmosphere" band than a melody driven band. Hope it helps.
I agree. Your chance of liking the artists Waza mentioned and liking Animal Collective are somewhere between slim and none. "Good guitar riffs and vocals" doesn't describe Animal Collective at all. You might as well recommend the new Scott Walker album.
I Like most of the bands you noted waza and I like Animal Collective. I don't think it is off base at all. Maybe we are trying to put you into a little box of musical interest but most people are interested in and will enjoy a lot more than we would like to believe. Give Feels or Sung Tongs a try. It would pretty poor to limit yourself. You might just love it. I wouldn't rule out anything. While we're at it try Akron/Family and Architecture In Helsinki.
I would recommend Sunset Rubdown, as they have some good guitar riffs. Also, they're really good. Also, a couple of Danish bands that are just amazing are Kashmir and Mew. You should definetely check them both out. Others: Radiohead (Ok computer and The Bends) Blonde Redhead...their newer stuff. Tapes n' Tapes Joseph Arthur ( i haven't heard his newest album, but his previous cds are excellent as well) mewithoutyou I could go on, but I won't.
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Posts: 70 | Location: upstate NY | Registered: 21 September 2006
