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…

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…

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…

Led by producer and DFA records honcho James Murphy, LCD Soundsystem helped bring indie rock to the dancefloor. As the flagship band of the early-2000s dance-punk craze, LCD Soundsystem mixed a punk edge with classic disco and house grooves, creating…

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…

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 members of early-2000s Britpop sensations Doves started out playing Manchester-inspired dance music in the '90s under the name Sub Sub before reinventing themselves as shoegazer-influenced rockers with 2000 debut album LOST SOULS, which was widel…

Emerging from Texas in the early years of the new millennium, this US quartet creates instrumental post-rock music that is the equal in ambition and scope of recordings by the more widely known Godspeed You Black Emperor! and Mogwai.
Midland, Texa…

Hailing from Portland, Oregon, the Decemberists burst onto the indie-rock scene in the early 2000s, weaving complex, literary narratives (courtesy of singer/songwriter Colin Meloy) through layers of chiming, acoustic-based folk-rock. Meloy's literary…

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 …

Formed by producer David Sitek in 2003, TV On The Radio is one of the more unusual acts to emerge from the mid-decade Brooklyn underground boom. Playing intelligent, well-crafted rock that nods to everything from prog to electronica to doo-wop, TV On…

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-…

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…

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…

Austin, Texas, indie popsters Spoon first hit the scene in 1996, releasing their debut album on New York's venerable Matador Records. With a solid, melodic punk sound firmly in place, Spoon would go on to develop a bolder, more adventurous aesthetic,…

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…

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…

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…

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…