Combining an inclination for melodic '60s pop with an art rock aesthetic borrowed from Krautrock bands like Faust and Neu!, Stereolab were one of the most influential alternative bands of the '90s. Led by Tim Gane and Laetitia Sadier, Stereolab either legitimized forms of music that were on the fringe of rock, or brought attention to strands of... [+] Read More

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R.E.M. mark the point when post-punk turned into alternative rock. When their first single, "Radio Free Europe," was released in 1981, it sparked a back-to-the-garage movement in the American underground. While there were a number of hardcore and punk bands in the U.S. during the early '80s, R.E.M. brought guitar pop back into the underground... [+] Read More

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Largely passed by in the alternative music sweepstakes of the mid-'90s, Acetone pursued indie rock with influences from two of their Southern California forebears, the Beach Boys and Gram Parsons, with plenty of the Velvet Underground thrown in as well. Officially formed in 1992 by guitarist Mark Lightcap, bassist Richie Lee and drummer Steve... [+] Read More

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At the time of their 1985 debut, Camper Van Beethoven's merging of punk, folk, ska, and world musics was truly a revelation. Self-described as "surrealist absurdist folk," the band formed in Santa Cruz, CA, after singer/songwriter David Lowery of Redlands, CA, with his dry humor and valley-boy voice (sometimes confused for a faux English... [+] Read More

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Captain Gallagher sings about whatever they want to sing about; plays on whatever instruments they have lying around; and draws inspiration from any and every genre and style.


The result?


A song about schizophrenia, with 'slide bass' and delay-drenched guitar noise, a la Radiohead.


A song about... [+] Read More

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Folk-punk singer/songwriter Elliott Smith rose from indie obscurity to mainstream success in 1997 on the strength of "Miss Misery," his Academy Award-nominated song from the film Good Will Hunting. A native of Portland, OR, Smith began writing and recording his first songs at age 14, later becoming a fixture of the city's thriving music scene;... [+] Read More

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Inspired equally by jangle pop and arty post-punk, Guided by Voices created a series of trebly, hissy indie rock records filled with infectiously brief pop songs that fell somewhere between the British Invasion and prog rock. After recording six self-released albums between 1986 and 1992, the Dayton, OH-based band attracted a handful of fans... [+] Read More

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Helium is essentially the project of Mary Timony, formerly of the girl punk band Autoclave. Helium formed in 1992 with Brian Dunton on bass and Shawn King Devlin and started releasing 7"s like 1993's The American Jean. 1994 saw the band release the Pirate Prude EP, an interesting but somewhat inaccessible exercise in mixing radical feminism with... [+] Read More

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Issaquah, WA, indie rock trio Modest Mouse was formed in 1993 by vocalist/guitarist Isaac Brock, bassist Eric Judy, and drummer Jeremiah Green. After honing their muscular sound in "The Shed" -- a makeshift practice space built by Brock on the land next to his mother's trailer -- Modest Mouse entered Calvin Johnson's Dub Narcotic Studios to cut... [+] Read More

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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

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Sometimes the warmest, sunniest US states house some of the darkest souls. Thus was the case for Florida born native, Mark Freifeld. Pirate Prude (yes, originally the debut EP title by the band, Helium) is the moniker for his songs. Mark began touting the name around back in 2004 when Pirate Prude played its first show opening for Xiu Xiu in... [+] Read More

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R.E.M. mark the point when post-punk turned into alternative rock. When their first single, "Radio Free Europe," was released in 1981, it sparked a back-to-the-garage movement in the American underground. While there were a number of hardcore and punk bands in the U.S. during the early '80s, R.E.M. brought guitar pop back into the underground... [+] Read More

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Indie rock trio the Rosebuds formed in May 2001, shortly after Ivan Howard (vocals/guitars) and Kelly Crisp (keyboards) met while in college in Wilmington, North Carolina. They moved to Raleigh that fall and enlisted drummer Billy Alphin (of Ashley Stove). After a split seven-inch, nearby Merge records discovered their demo in early 2003 and... [+] Read More

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Formed from the ashes of the trance-rockers Spacemen 3, singer/guitarist Jason Pierce's group Spiritualized did not break away from his prior band's trademark hypnotic minimalism; instead, they perfected it. Drawing on the continued influence of the Velvet Underground, La Monte Young, and Steve Reich, Spiritualized staked out a common ground... [+] Read More

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Hailing from Austin, TX, Spoon originated in 1994 as a collaboration between Britt Daniel (vocals/guitar) and Jim Eno (drums) and a rotating cast of supporting players. Their hybrid of indie and punk resulted in a number of Sonic Youth and Pixies comparisons after their 1996 debut album, Telephono. Spoon toured with the likes of Pavement, Guided... [+] Read More

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If the hairy, hippy lovechild of Sam Beam and Andy Maize were the singer of Yo La Tengo, That's the Spirit would at least be listening in the front row, if not actually being the pleasing sound that results.

That's the Spirit is the latest incarnation of Ottawa's Ben Wilson, long a staple of the local scene and former frontman for... [+] Read More

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Self-confident and ambitious, the Raveonettes entered the garage rock race of the new millennium with a stylish, brassy sound not heard since Sonic Youth's Daydream Nation. Sune Rose Wagner (guitar, vocals) and Sharin Foo (bass, vocals) hail from Copenhagen and formed the Raveonettes out of dismay for their homeland's state of music.
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