Amidst a field overcrowded with teen-pop and nu-metal, Detroit's White Stripes emerged at the tail end of the 1990s as a new hope for gutsy, no-frills rock & roll. Their doggedly minimalist sound--just one guitar and a drum kit--heralded a return to …

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…

When the garage rock revival hit big in the U.S. in 2001 with the Strokes, White Stripes, et al., it came as a surprise to many fans that a number of Swedish bands had been doing it longer and arguably better. Of these, the hyperactive Hives broke th…

Like so many underground NYC rock bands, the Strokes first generated publicity in the U.K., though it didn't take long for their no-frills sound to catch on at home. Paying homage to their influences, the group purveys a mix of Velvet Underground/New…

Few rock acts have started off playing lo-fi pop folk, before transforming into a electronic-based, new wave dance outfit, but the Omaha, Nebraska, USA-based trio, the Faint, is one of the few exceptions. The band was formed during 1994 by Todd Baech…

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 2003, when droves of new bands were stripping down their sound as part of the widespread garage-rock revival, idiosyncratic British band the Darkness headed in the opposite direction. Their campy, larger-than-life approach was deeply indebted to '…

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…

Beginning as just another Brit-pop band with promise, Blur has exceeded all expectations. Their debut release showed a flair for catchy guitar-based tunes, their next three effectively channeled various British music traditions to create an eclectic …

Though Tennessee's Kings of Leon are a rock band from the south, that doesn't mean they're a Southern Rock band. The Followill brothers Caleb, Jared, and Nathan (along with their cousin Matthew) play a straight-ahead, hard-driving brand of rock & rol…

Lead by iconic frontman Courtney Taylor-Taylor, the Dandy Warhols are one of pop music's most inspired and musically infectious bands, embodying the wild abandon and hedonist artistry of rock's past. The Portland, Oregon quartet mix a heavy dose of 1…

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…

These New York art shock-rockers, formed in 2003, take camp icons like Elton John, the Bee Gees, and Billy Joel as their musical foundation for a sound that's rooted in the dance clubs of their hometown. On their debut, self-titled album they reinter…

Atlanta-based hip-hop duo Outkast succeeded in bringing an unorthodox rhyme style and quirky, P-Funk-influenced sound and presentation into the rap mainstream. Successful since their 1994 debut, Outkast have gotten progressively more idiosyncratic. T…

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…

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…

Rarely has a pop act been more appropriately named than Danish duo Junior Senior. Junior, the short and thin Jesper Mortensen (b. 17 February 1977, Jutland, West Denmark), contributes vocals and guitar while his musical partner Senior, the tall and t…

Beck Hansen, the quintessential California slacker, came up among the lo-fi ranks, pushing a blend of country blues, Dylan-inspired wordplay, punk, and hip-hop. His straight-out-of-the-gate 1994 smash, "Loser," made him a star seemingly overnight. Su…

The Clash was one of the first and most important British punk bands. In the 1970s, they were the Beatles to the Sex Pistols' Stones, and went on to incorporate elements from all the roots music they loved--reggae, rockabilly, soul, blues--without ev…