The Manchester quintet Alfie (singer Lee Gorton, guitarist Ian Smith, cellist Matt McGeever, bassist Sam Morris, and drummer Sean Kelly), came about in the late '90s after Gorton became increasingly fed up with the local music scene -- when most bands at the time were merely rehashing Oasis songs. The band caught a break with their very first... [+] Read More

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A band that takes its name from a French children's television series about a boy and his dog would almost have to be precious, and to be certain, Belle & Sebastian are precious. But precious can be a damning word, and Belle & Sebastian don't have the negative qualities that the word connotes -- they are private but not insular, pretty... [+] Read More

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Led by the multi-talented Joe Cassidy (the only constant member), a native of Belfast, North Ireland, Butterfly Child burst onto the music scene in '91 with two well-received EPs on A.R. Kane's H.ark label. Signing to Rough Trade in '93, Butterfly Child released both the brilliant Ghetto Speak EP and equally wonderful Onomatopoeia album. It was... [+] Read More

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Cardinal was a one-off project from singers/songwriters Richard Davies and Eric Matthews. The duo came together in 1994 following ex-Moles frontman Davies' relocation from his native Australia to the U.S.; he wrote and sang all but one of the songs that comprised Cardinal's self-titled debut, while the Oregon-born Matthews arranged the... [+] Read More

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The work of Eric Matthews was a direct reaction to the lo-fi recording practices so prevalent throughout the alternative music scene of the 1990s; while many of the decade's artists trafficked in a defiantly ragged, do-it-yourself aesthetic, Matthews' records grew out of orchestral theories and practices, and revelled in the stately elegance of... [+] Read More

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Not so much underrated as unheard, Moose grew up in Britain's distortion-heavy shoegazing movement of the early '90s but soon shed the fuzzy wash of their compatriots to embrace a clean, acoustic-based style -- inspired by '60s icons Burt Bacharach and Tim Buckley as well as jangle merchants like the Byrds and R.E.M. -- that still relied on the... [+] Read More

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Named after a brilliant red hair dye, Detroit's Outrageous Cherry explores the sunnier side of droning, fuzzy indie-rock. The band started as a recording project in 1992 but blossomed into a full-fledged group when singer/guitarist/producer Matthew Smith, bassist Chad Gilchrist, guitarist Larry Ray and drummer Deb Agnolli began performing live... [+] Read More

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After the 1997 dissolution of Henry's Dress and a brief dalliance with Go Sailor, Amy Linton began fooling around with a four-track and some solo material in a comfortable home studio setting. It turned out she had quite bit to say, and in quite a hooky fashion. The so-named Aislers Set officially debuted with Terrible Things Happen, issued... [+] Read More

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Hailing from the nook that brought Tuscadero, the Dusters, and Unrest, the Saturday People define their own lush indie rock with jangly guitars and an effervescent live persona. The band -- which features Velocity Girl expatriate Archie Moore (bass), ex-Tree Fort Angst mate Terry Banks (guitar), Dan Searing (drums) from the Ropers, and the... [+] Read More

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Young and Sexy's boy-girl vocals, gentle melodies, and golden arrangements pay true homage to the Beatles while securing them a spot in the ranks of contemporary wonder popsters Call & Response, Aislers Set, Beulah, Gentle Waves, and the Clientele.

The origins of Young and Sexy lie in a chance meeting between Paul Hixon Pittman and... [+] Read More

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