Equally inspired by classic tunesmiths like Buddy Holly and John Lennon as well as the attitude and angular riffs of fellow New Yorkers Television and the Velvet Underground, the Strokes were also equally blessed and cursed with an enormous amount of hype -- particularly from the U.K. music press, whose adulation for the group rivaled their... [+] Read More

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Win Butler, Régine Chassagne, Richard Parry, Tim Kingsbury, and Win's kid brother William Butler formed the Arcade Fire in summer 2003. The experimental indie rock quintet, who hail from Montreal, initially began when the elder Butler spotted Chassagne singing jazz standards at a local art exhibit at Concordia University in their hometown. From... [+] Read More

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Calla was formed in New York City in 1997 by Aurelio Valle (guitar, vocals), Sean Donovan (bass, keyboards, programming), and Wayne B. Magruder (percussion, programming). However, the band's origins can be traced to Texas in 1993, where Valle and Magruder began performing together in the Denton band, the Factory Press.

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Fullerton, CA's Cold War Kids make music with roots that go deep and wide, embracing influences as diverse as Bob Dylan, Billie Holiday, Jeff Buckley, and the Velvet Underground. Matt Aveiro, Matt Maust, Jonnie Russell, and Nathan Willett began crafting their soulful, blues-inflected take on indie rock as Cold War Kids in 2004, recording demos... [+] Read More

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New York-based band Firewater, incorporated a global range of musical influences into their highly-dynamic sound. A loosely-knit ensemble centered around the lead vocals of ex-Cop Shoots Cop bass player Tod A. (born: Tod Ashley), Firewater tied together such influences as Klezmer, Indian wedding music, art-punk, and Tom Waits-style cabaret... [+] Read More

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Glasgow's art-damaged rock quartet Franz Ferdinand -- named for the Austro-Hungarian Archduke whose murder sparked World War I -- features bassist Bob Hardy, guitarist Nick McCarthy, drummer Paul Thomson, and singer/guitarist Alex Kapranos. In late 2001, Kapranos and Hardy had begun working on music together when they met McCarthy, a classically... [+] Read More

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Beginning as a noisy, synth-based combo in 1999, Victoria, British Colombia's Hot Hot Heat evolved into an aggressively catchy indie rock band two years later, when keyboardist Steve Bays took on the vocal duties, and guitarist Dante DeCaro joined their ranks. The group's new lineup -- which also featured founding members Paul Hawley on drums... [+] Read More

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New York's Interpol reminds anyone who has ever heard post-punk bands like Joy Division and the Chameleons of those exact bands, plus a few more. The roots of the band -- as far as its members are considered -- can be traced back to a partnership between Daniel Kessler (a guitarist and vocalist) and a fellow New York University student named... [+] Read More

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New York's Interpol reminds anyone who has ever heard post-punk bands like Joy Division and the Chameleons of those exact bands, plus a few more. The roots of the band -- as far as its members are considered -- can be traced back to a partnership between Daniel Kessler (a guitarist and vocalist) and a fellow New York University student named... [+] Read More

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Pleasantly disheveled and slightly wistful, Red Sea Station has crafted an indie album with a mélange of small, revolving melodic motifs coming from every direction, united with a backbone of sprightly, rubbery beats. Cycling twinkles framed by a fast, glitch-pop electro attack full of... [+] Read More

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