Genre: Rock/Pop
Over the past few years San Francisco's AM Magic has generated an organic, imaginative, and sturdy style of melodic indie pop--a sound that bears the hazy brightness of hard-fought confidence. With songwriting duties split between Karma Tsocheff and Mike Alexis, images of distant boats, red-eye flights, Barcelona, and uncertainty crop up within... [+] Read More
Genre: Rock/Pop
Decades Active: 90s, 00s
With their fractured songs, unexpected blasts of feedback, laconic vocals, cryptic literate lyrics, and defiant low-fidelity, Pavement were one of the most influential and distinctive bands to emerge from the American underground in the '90s. Pavement, along with Sebadoh, were the leaders of the lo-fi movement that dominated U.S. indie rock in... [+] Read More
Genre: Rock/Pop
Decades Active: 90s, 00s
Alternating influences from neo-psychedelia, noise pop, and Ennio Morricone film scores, Swell formed in San Francisco in 1989 when vocalist/guitarist David Freel and drummer Sean Kirkpatrick decided to record an album. Enlisting second guitarist John Dettman and bassist Monte Vallier, the band recorded a self-titled debut album and released it... [+] Read More
Genre: Rock/Pop
Decades Active: 90s
Characterized by their muscular guitar sound and the powerful vocals of frontwoman Jenny Toomey, the aptly named Tsunami was among the most important and original bands to emerge from the American indie scene of the 1990s; the motivating force behind the highly regarded Simple Machines label, the group's sociopolitical activism and unwavering... [+] Read More
Genre: Rock/Pop
Decades Active: 80s, 90s
The flagship act of frontman Mark Robinson's own TeenBeat label, Unrest was a towering pillar of the American indie rock community throughout the early '90s -- from the tongue-in-cheek garage noise of their earliest efforts to the shimmering, manic pop thrills of their later, most enduring work, the band was a paragon of DIY virtue, perfecting a... [+] Read More