[strangemusic]

Favourite indie?

-Sufjan Stevens
-Lotus Child
-Elliott Smith
-Stars
-The Whitest Boy Alive
-Thao

I would write more, but I have to go write a mid-term. Boo.

 

[virometal]

I really dig art punk and electro garage rock (as I like to call it) so some of my recent faves would be:

A Place to Bury Strangers
Clinic
The Faint
Liars
Out Hud
Trans Am
We Are Wolves

Not all are genre specific, and many are hard to peg. Take The Faint who have morphed considerably over the years. The Liars are a trip album to album, so is Trans Am. even though they've settled a bit lately.

All time, I'll throw out Deerhoof, Pixies, PJ Harvey (does she count anymore?), and Throwing Muses

 

[GlendaleViper]

I realize most of the bands being mentioned thus far have been newer additions to the Indie scene, but old-man Viro over here obviously hasn't felt bound by such restrictions and I have to put a (perhaps overly) enthusiastic name drop out there for the old kings and queen of Lo-Fi:

Eric's Trip

Anyone seriously interested in hearing what is (IMO) the pinnacle of Grunge-era Lo-Fi Indie must look into this band.

 

[Asr]

Not sure if these qualify as "indie" per se but I think they're pretty close to the category:

Azure Ray / Mazzy Star / Trespassers William

All three have in common a soft, atmospheric & languid sound, with either poetic or striking lyrics otherwise. I guess these 3 fall into the "shoegazer" genre to an extent, and each is easily one of the most absorbing listens I'll routinely have.

 

[ueyteuor]

i don't know if animal collective is indie, but they are def. my favorite

other favorites are:

joy division, neutral milk hotel, panda bear, clap your hands say yeah

forgot to add wolf parade

 

[Akathisia]

Death From Above 1979

Just a bass player and a drummer who sings. Absolutely awesome. Too bad they broke up after one album...

 

[tru blu]

…2x! on Death from Above 1979.

Question: Am I the only one here who feels that folks tend to be "lo-fi" until they have access to more resources? I think anyone who wants a lesson in how to make sump'n sump'n out of nothin' should listen to early hip-hop singles (L.L. Cool J, Run-DMC, Schoolly-D, Boogie Down Productions). Of course, you could also listen to Beck's Mellow Gold.

 

[FrederikS|TPU]

Bruce Springsteen - Nebraska, great vocals on that version of the "Atlantic City".

 

[goober-george]

Elliott Smith
Rocky Votolato
Minus the Bear
Les Savy Fav
Portugal the Man
Owen

 

[GlendaleViper]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Akathisia /img/forum/go_quote.gif Death From Above 1979 Just a bass player and a drummer who sings. Absolutely awesome. Too bad they broke up after one album...

Don't know that I'd call them Lo-Fi... by that standard, I could call Big Business (Hard Rock outfit) Lo-Fi as well, but they're anything but.

Also, keep in mind bass+drums is a little misleading as the band had a heavy emphasis on the synths, too.

[EDIT] Wouldn't call them Indie, either... just nitpicking though.

 

[Akathisia]

Quote:

Originally Posted by GlendaleViper /img/forum/go_quote.gif Don't know that I'd call them Lo-Fi... by that standard, I could call Big Business (Hard Rock outfit) Lo-Fi as well, but they're anything but. Also, keep in mind bass+drums is a little misleading as the band had a heavy emphasis on the synths, too. [EDIT] Wouldn't call them Indie, either... just nitpicking though.

I would say DTA'79 falls under what people here are calling lo-fi and indie.

I would say bands like lightning bolt are low-fi.

 

[fikete]

Of Montreal
Band of horses
Animal Collective
The Shins

Camera Obscura - definately check this band out, very talented singer and good songwriting (If looks could kill is a the first song that got me hooked)

Say Hi (to your mom) - Impeccable Blahs is an incredible album

Someone still loves you Boris Yeltsin - can't wait for thier new album in April

Scissors for lefty - I love this band, thier second album was recorded well so it seems like they get somewhat rejected by indie/low-fi fans but their style is indie pop as far as I can tell

Bright eyes
Wolf Parade
Death cab for cutie
Iron and wine
Justin Warfield
The Decemberists

Pavement
Built to spill
The Apples (in stereo)

 

[goosemeister]

a fan of many already listed, here are a couple recent favorites of mine that have not been mentioned yet:

phosphorescent - fractured folk-pop a la will oldham. lyrical and ethereal. my song of the year in "wolves."

bon iver - neo-folk soul. layered melancholy harmonies. thoughtful. haunting.

 

[goldenratiophi]

Before I forget:

Found this gem on Stylus on their last day. If you don't like it you have no soul.

 

[HiGHFLYiN9]

Found some new bands I really like that I wanted to list here:

Black Kids: (as goldenratiophi mentioned earlier in the thread) The Party Traumatic CD from these guys just came out, and was consistently good all the way through. The single that's playing now is `I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How To Dance With You'. An upbeat pop-discoish sound with indie flare.

Foals: Their newest CD "Antidotes" has been out since April but it has yet to really get a following in the US. High-pitched repetitive twang and an ultra addictive drive. Tons of great singles including "Cassius", "Two Steps, Twice" and "Balloons".

The Mountain Goats: A cynical sounding indie band with unusually entertaining lyrics, these guys are pretty stripped down and on the slower side. They're currently on tour. Some songs to check out are "No Children", "Sax Rohmer #1", "This Year" and "Woke Up New".

Rapture:The Rapture owes a little bit of their new found popularity to being included in the latest GTA soundtrack. These guys have a high-energy dance-punk sound that makes them pretty unique imho. The latest CD was "Pieces of the People We Love".

The Virgins: The Virgins are yet another forward sounding indie band that will get your head nodding pretty quickly. Twangy repetitive guitars and smooth vocals give the Virgins an addictive sound that you'll notice as soon as you listen to the single "Rich Girls".