Bright Eyes is the brainchild of Omaha, NE singer-songwriter Conor Oberst, around whom the band (which has at times consisted solely of Oberst) revolves. Part of an Omaha indie scene centered around the Saddle Creek label, Oberst learned at the feet …

In 2002, Interpol helped lead the charge of New York bands influenced by the post-punk and new wave sounds of the early 1980s. With Cure-like moody guitar and synth riffs and dour, Ian Curtis-style vocals, they conjured up a dark but infectious sound…

In the wake of Bikini Kill's split during the late 90s, singer-songwriter Kathleen Hanna took little time to get back in the "Riot Grrrl' ring with Julie Ruin, and soon afterwards, Le Tigre. While the former project proved to be a one-off, Le Tigre w…

U.K. dance-rock outfit Bloc Party stormed both sides of the pond in 2005 with the release of its debut full-length SILENT ALARM. Mixing airtight dance-floor rhythms with smart guitar-driven melodies and a hipster aesthetic, Bloc Party set itself apar…

Formed in 1999 in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, Hot Hot Heat looked back nearly 20 years for inspiration, as they fashioned their sound after quirky post punk outfits such as XTC and the Cure. After a number of personnel changes, the line-up se…

Separately, synth player Jimmy Tamborello and singer Ben Gibbard were known for their work in electronica and emo, respectively, with Dntel and Death Cab For Cutie. Together, they became a powerful pop duo, combinining Tamborello's melodic knowhow an…

A fixture of the early-2000s Omaha, Nebraska, indie-rock scene gathered around Saddle Creek records, Cursive purveyed a style of rock that incorporated the energy of punk with the angular, shifting structures of classic early-1990s indie bands. Lyric…

Combining the influences of new wave, post-punk, and lo-fi, Washington's Modest Mouse spent the second half of the 1990s becoming one of the most renowned indie-rock bands in America. Though often tagged an emo group, Modest Mouse transcends sub-genr…

As much an art project as an actual band, Fischerspooner is the brainchild of Casey Spooner and Warren Fischer, two New York City-based multi-media artists. Drawing heavily on 1980s U.K. synth and dance pop, Fischerspooner plays infectious club music…

One of the most celebrated new bands of 2004, the Arcade Fire came out of Montreal's vibrant music scene with a melancholic, cinematic sound equally redolent of '80s heroes like the Cure and Echo & the Bunnymen and latter-day orchestral-rockers Mercu…

Formed in the Pacific Northwest during the late 1990s, Death Cab for Cutie deals in guitar rock that is informed by a striking sensitivity. Led by singer/guitarist Benjamin Gibbard, the group straddles the line between indie and emo rock, earning the…

Musically minimalistic and visually outrageous, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs were at the center of the revival of post-punk and garage rock that made New York City a rock & roll hotspot again in the early 2000s. After the success of the Strokes, the trio (led…

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…

In the late 1990s, the Albuquerque indie-rock band Flake Music morphed into the Shins, led by vocalist-guitarist James Mercer. Upon the release of 2001's OH, INVERTED WORLD, the Shins garnered a landslide of critical acclaim with their amiable, 1960…

Death from Above 1979 made an immediate splash upon debuting in 2004 with Youre a Woman Im a Machine Bassistsynth player Jesse F Keeler and drummervocalist Sebastien Grainger hail from Toronto where they met and formed Death from Above in 2001 The 19…

Rilo Kiley is a pop four-piece formed in Los Angeles in the late 1990s by Blake Sennett and former child actress Jenny Lewis. The band plays an effortless brand of sing-song pop/rock shot through with hints of Americana and songbook stylings. After s…

There was no shortage of new post-punk inspired outfits emerging in the early 2000's. However, Scottish band Franz Ferdinand had a slightly different take on things, bearing the marked influence of countrymen Josef K and Orange Juice as well as usual…

The punchy modern rock outfit the Bravery features Sam Endicott vocalsguitar John Conway keyboards Anthony Burulcich drums Michael Zakarin guitar and Mike H bass The New York five-piece got its start in early 2003 After playing its first gig at the S…

Led by depressive pop prince Robert Smith, the Cure have taken their legions of fans on a journey from post-punk to gothic to new wave to art rock, stopping only for refills of hairspray along the way. An amazing band both live and in the studio, the…

Los Angeles post-punk revivalists the Moving Units feature Blake Miller Johan Bogeli and Chris Hathwell formerly of the hardcore band Festival of Dead Deer The group formed in late 2001 shortly after Festival of Dead Deer broke up and began writing a…