The Shys brash update of 60s British Invasion and garage rock and 70s punk had its roots in San Clemente CA where vocalistguitarist Kyle Krone and keyboardistharmonica player Alex Kweskin grew up as childhood friends Kweskin learned to play piano and…

When the pioneering emo band the Get Up Kids called it quits in 2005 guitarist Jim Suptic pressed on with his next project Blackpool Lights The indie rock foursome started in 2004 with Suptic vocalsguitar Brian Everard bass Billy Brimblecom drums and…

VHS or Beta formed in 1997 in Louisville KY when bassist Mark Palgy and guitarists Zeke Buck and Craig Pfunder met after high school After a brief stint with noise punk and the addition of drummer Mark Guidry they reformed in response to their love o…

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…

Bostons Aberdeen City features Christopher McLaughlin vocalsguitar Robert McCaffrey drums Bradley Parker vocalsbass and J Ryan Heller guitar The alternative rock foursome met in 2001 and together they create a swirling hypnotic rock sound In 2003 the…

The witty theatrical sound of the Lovely Feathers came together in 2004 with Richard Yanofsky guitarvocals Mark Kupfert guitarsvocals Noah Bernamoff bass Dan Suss keyboards and Ted Suss drums The circumstances that led to the Lovely Feathers formatio…

Many artists musical and otherwise use their craft to provide a visible platform for the issues they believe in Their activism becomes interwoven with their art The Indigo Girls have long been known for voicing their political and social views in son…

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…

The Electric Soft Parade began in Brighton where brothers Alex White vocalsguitar and Tom White drums recorded sloppy four-track albums and sold them to locals under the moniker Feltro Media One of these recordings caught the attention of indie DB wh…

Hailing from Sunderland England indieart rock trio Field Music consists of siblings Peter and David Brewis as well as founderdirector Andrew Moore Their colorful blend of Beach Boys melodies filtered through a post-rock aesthetic has drawn comparison…

People in Planes is a five-piece indie pop outfit from Cardiff Wales that makes lush modern rock with an ambitious attitude Friends since their youth in Porthcawl vocalist Gareth Jones and guitarist Peter Roberts were first inspired to form a band in…

San Francisco quartet Birdmonster are kind of like a Bay Area version of Ted Leo the Pharmacists except that where Leo and his group have an undying devotion to first-wave new wave and ska groups like the Jam and the Specials Birdmonster spike their…

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 core unit of San Diegos Louis XIV had originally played together in the rootsy alt-rocking Convoy which issued an album called Black Licorice in 2001 Having moved on by 2003 vocalistguitarists Jason Hill and Brian Karscig and drummer Mark Maigaar…

Formed in Leicester, England, in the late 1990s, dance-rock quartet Kasabian hit big with their self-titled debut in 2004. Bearing the marked influence of "baggy" superstars the Stone Roses and the Happy Mondays, Kasabian set themselves apart from ma…

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…

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…

One of many young U.K. bands to grab the spotlight in the mid 2000s, the Kaiser Chiefs play catchy, madcap Brit Pop, perfect for a Saturday night out. Unlike their peers on the scene, the Kaiser Chiefs have a goofy charm that plays off the styles and…