Named after French painter Jean Debuffet's definition of outsider art -- art by prisoners, loners, the mentally ill, and other marginalized people, and made without thought to imitation or presentation -- South London's Art Brut make brilliantly simple, cleverly stupid art-punk. Tagged by NME as part of the "Art Wave" scene that also includes... [+] Read More

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Named after French painter Jean Debuffet's definition of outsider art -- art by prisoners, loners, the mentally ill, and other marginalized people, and made without thought to imitation or presentation -- South London's Art Brut make brilliantly simple, cleverly stupid art-punk. Tagged by NME as part of the "Art Wave" scene that also includes... [+] Read More

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Equally inspired by Sonic Youth, Joy Division, Gang of Four, and the Cure, South London art-punkers Bloc Party mix angular sonics with pop structures. Consisting of singer/guitarist Kele Okereke, guitarist Russell Lissack, bassist/singer Gordon Moakes, and drummer Matt Tong, the band was formerly known as Angel Range and Union before settling on... [+] 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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Newcastle's angular pop quintet Maxïmo Park consists of singer Paul Smith, guitarist Duncan Lloyd, bassist Archie Tiku, keyboardist Lukas Wooller, and drummer Tom English. Like their friends and neighbors the Futureheads, Maxïmo Park craft smart, sharply catchy songs inspired by post-punk and new wave legends like the Jam, XTC, Wire, and the... [+] Read More

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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 their early teens after listening nonstop to Supergrass' 1995 album I Should Coco. This... [+] 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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Taking the best of post-punk, new wave, and pop as inspiration, Sunderland's Futureheads were among the best of the U.K.'s "angular" movement, which also included Franz Ferdinand and Bloc Party. The band began as a trio of vocalist/guitarist Barry Hyde, bassist Jaff, and drummer Pete Brewis. Hyde and Brewis were tutors at a lottery-funded... [+] Read More

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The Libertines joined the pop fray of 2002, competing with the likes of the Strokes, Hives, Vines, and Doves with their debut single, "What a Waster." The Bernard Butler-produced track entered the U.K.'s Top 40 in June, leaving NME to crown the Libertines as the best new band in Britain. The double-A-side song "I Get Along" earned Single of the... [+] Read More

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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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