After the Libertines broke up in fall 2004, singer/songwriter and guitarist Carl Barat began work on his next musical project. Signing to the U.K. label Vertigo almost immediately after the band dissolved, Barat worked on songs on his own and eventually recruited his former bandmate Gary Powell as the drummer for his new group. He also brought... [+] 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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When Tears for Fears sang, "Kick out the Style/Bring back the Jam," in "Sowing the Seeds of Love," one can imagine the lads in Kaiser Chiefs raising their mugs of ale in agreement. Comprised of vocalist Ricky Wilson, guitarist Andrew White, bassist Simon Rix, keyboardist Nick Baines, and drummer Nick Hodgson, Kaiser Chiefs resurrected the mod... [+] Read More

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Razorlight formed in London in 2002 around vocalist/guitarist Johnny Borrell and guitarist/vocalist and Swedish ex-pat Björn Ågnen. Joined by bassist Carl Dalemo and drummer Christian Smith-Pancorvo, the combo recorded some early demos at London's Toe Rag studios, and those songs led to radio exposure and the initial stirrings of hype. Mercury... [+] Read More

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Although Sound Team didn't officially form until later, the band had its beginnings in a friendship started up by University of Texas classmates Bill Baird and Matt Oliver. They were both playing around in various bands, but their interest in home recording brought them together musically. After college, they ended up in Portland, OR, staying... [+] Read More

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While attending Manhattan's Pratt Institute of the Arts in the late '90s, Shawn Christensen (vocals/guitar), Amanda Tannen (bass), and Arthur Kremer (drums) befriended one another for what would eventually become a musical journey. The threesome had barely grasped the beauty of their respective instruments, so forming the band Ghistor was an... [+] Read More

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The punchy modern rock outfit the Bravery features Sam Endicott (vocals/guitar), 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 Stinger Club in Brooklyn in mid-summer, the Bravery's post-punk-influenced dance... [+] Read More

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Brandon Flowers (vocals/keyboards), David Keuning (guitar), Mark Stoermer (bass), and Ronnie Vannucci (drums) took the fashionista pop world by storm in summer 2004 with "Somebody Told Me." The perfectly stylish song pulls from the band's influences -- the Smiths, New Order, Oasis, and the Cure -- and it was just enough to get them on MTV. Part... [+] Read More

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Proof that one fantastic single is all it takes to make a band's name, the Rakes burst onto the London music scene in 2004 with "22 Grand Job," a pithy punk satire of crappy entry-level office jobs. Various stories swirled about how the band -- which featured vocalist/guitarist Alan Donohoe, guitarist Matthew Swinnerton, bassist Jamie Hornsmith,... [+] Read More

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Hailing from Oxford, England, the Young Knives features Henry Dartnall (vocals/guitar), Oliver Askew (drums), and Thomas Dartnall (bass) (aka House of Lords). These snarky post-punk revivalists initially started out playing Ned's Atomic Dustbin songs while living in their hometown of Ashby-de-la-Zouch, Leicestershire, but a move to Oxford in... [+] Read More

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