This British-French outfit started out in the early 1990s, with a sound that incorporated French-chanteuse vocals, primitive electronics, and Velvet Underground-meets-Neu chugging rhythm. Over the years, they refined their approach immensely, with ec…

Formed in 1996, and hailing from Scotland, Belle & Sebastian are a musical collective with a penchant for ellipticism, declining to have their pictures on album covers or in the press, shying away from interviews, and never listing their individual n…

Taking their name from the organization that produced lo-fi, arty films that influenced their early sensibilities, this Scottish electronic duo made big waves with their 1998 album MUSIC HAS THE RIGHT TO CHILDREN. They combined '80s-influenced synth-…

By turns cuddly and chaotic San Franciscos Deerhoof mixes noise sugary melodies and an experimental spirit into sweetly challenging and utterly distinctive music The group began as the brainchild of guitarist Rob Fisk and drummerkeyboardist Greg Saun…

Yo La Tengo started out in the mid-1980s and became perhaps the ultimate critics' band. Led by former NYC rock journalist Ira Kaplan, they syncretized numerous, often esoteric influences to eventually create a distinctive sound. They started out in h…

UK synth-pop band formed in 1998 by Daniel Hunt (keyboards/rhythm box), Reuben Wu (keyboards/rhythm box), Mira Aroyo (b. Bulgaria; vocals/keyboards) and Helena Marnie (vocals/keyboards). Ladytron, who take their name from a Roxy Music track, pay homa…

This Hampshire, England band specializes in a style of alt-rock that could serve as the perfect soundtrack to a sleepy Sunday morning. Clientele was formed in 1997 by Alasdair Maclean (vocals/guitar), James Hornsey (bass), Innes Phillips (guitar/voca…

In the first half of the 2000s, Canadian bands like Godspeed You Black Emperor, Arcade Fire, and the Stills began taking the indie-rock world by storm. While they didn't break through to the mainstream, Broken Social Scene nevertheless joined those r…

French postmodernists Air raid every aspect of retro pop music, from the sublime to the ridiculous, in fashioning their sonic bricolage. Everything from Krautrock-inspired electronics to 1960s lounge music is incorporated into the work of Nicolas God…

The Animal Collective won over a sizable audience in the mid 2000s despite its seemingly inaccessible brand of fractured, experimental folk. Although the Brooklyn-based Collective's music isn't exactly mainstream and can, at times, be quite difficult…

Canadian indie pop combo Wolf Parade formed in 2003 in Montreal where their first show was opening for Arcade Fire From there Dan Boeckner Spencer Krug Hadji Bakara and Arlen Thompson recorded and self-released a four-song EP and followed that with a…

A fearless sonic adventurer, Icelandic songstress Bjork first appeared prominently on the musical map in 1988 with LIFE'S TOO GOOD, the debut album of her band, the Sugarcubes. Four years later, the group split, and Bjork wasted no time in working on…

Indie singer-songwriter Chan Marshall somewhat reluctantly began recording under the name Cat Power in the mid-1990s. Often withdrawn and always unapologetically eccentric, Marshall nonetheless managed to win over a steadily growing following, thanks…

Although My Bloody Valentine formed in 1984, their renowned sound didn't coalesce until four years later, with the album ISN'T ANYTHING. Initially a revved-up rock band that featured core members Kevin Shields and Colm O'Ciosoig, MBV truly came into…

Radiohead burst onto the Britpop scene in the early 1990s with a clamorous, post-U2 take on guitar rock, buoyed by the hit "Creep." They subsequently developed their songwriting and production skills on THE BENDS and achieved iconic status with their…

Italian twins Amedeo and Simone Pace formed Blonde Redhead in New York City during the early 1990s with Japanese vocalist Kazu Makino. The group's brand of noise-rock earned them an unshakable comparison to Sonic Youth. Although the two groups indee…

Saint Etienne were purveyors of a groundbreaking mix of various British indie styles and straight-up dance music. The ensemble--comprised essentially of old friends Bob Stanley and Pete Wiggs, with the addition of Sarah Cracknell as the permanent voc…

The mastermind of the Magnetic Fields is Stephin Merritt, an urbane songwriter with a scathing wit, equally influenced by the Pet Shop Boys and Stephen Sondheim. Since 1991, Merritt has married sophisticated wordplay with elegant melodies and (partic…

Almost never appearing without surgical masks and O.R. scrubs, the Liverpool, U.K., band Clinic hit the scene in the late 1990s with a series of singles that pointed to one of the hippest record collections around. A 2000 disc on Domino Records, INTE…

Although Of Montreal come from Athens, Georgia, USA, the band's sound is unmistakably rooted in the mid-60s psychedelic era of UK pop, with obvious nods to the Beatles and the Kinks. Formed in the mid-90s, Of Montreal have often been compared to othe…