Reading the titles of Canadian indie rock duo Japandroids’ albums gives you a fairly good sense of what they’re all about. Their 2009 debut Post-Nothing suggests a band lacking a grand vision of what they’re supposed to be, bucking subgenre designations like “post-punk” and “post-rock” in the process. More descriptive is the band’s 2012 sophomore […]
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For a band that seemingly emerged out of nowhere, the xx have made an impressive impact. Their 2009 debut xx received unanimous critical acclaim and won the 2010 Mercury Prize, despite relatively little radio play and the absence of any singles that could be called a “hit.” More importantly, the band’s sound became highly influential
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STRFKR (formerly known as Starfucker before vowels fell out of fashion) never wanted to be pinned down or confined to any single box. In an interview, frontman Josh Hodges declared that the band’s mission was to create “dance music that you can actually listen to, that’s good pop songs, but also you can dance
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Empire of the Sun are known for three things: creating album art and publicity photos so over the top they’re awesome, wearing flamboyant costumes at all times, and making some pretty good electronic music. For now, let’s focus on that last point. Empire of the Sun combines Luke Steele of alternative rock band the Sleepy
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Conor Oberst is a man of many faces. He’s best known as the founder and frontman of the band Bright Eyes, whose angsty, acoustic guitar-driven “emo” songs reached peak popularity in the early to mid-2000s. This of course oversimplifies the band’s music, which mellowed and matured significantly over the years, but the association remains. There’s
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Bands all deal with fame in different ways. Some embrace it, and actively cultivate their following, while others shun the limelight. For Irish rock group Two Door Cinema Club, it turned out to be too much of a good thing. Their 2010 debut album Tourist History propelled the band to fame with a dance-rock
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It’s been nearly a decade since Bon Iver first released music that made their name a cultural touchstone, or at least an indie music touchstone. If that seems like a strong word choice, realize that many see frontman Justin Vernon as the perfect indie music archetype or stereotype (depending on who you ask). In a
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Kaoru Ishibashi, the man behind Kishi Bashi, has been one of the most upbeat guys making music since he hit the scene with his 2012 debut 151a. As a former touring member for of Montreal, he combined their whimsical energy with the violin looping techniques of Owen Pallett to create intricate yet cheerful melodies. He
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Typically when one person leaves a musical duo, you’d expect that to be the end of the band. After all, it’s hard to imagine the White Stripes without either Meg or Jack, Death From Above 1979 without Sebastian Grainger’s vocals or Jesse Keeler’s trademark distorted bass, or Flight of the Conchords without Bret or Jemaine.
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Getting too attached to one of Montreal’s albums is generally a bad idea. During their 19 years on the scene, the band – or rather, sole consistent member and frontman Kevin Barnes – has released a total of 14 studio albums, constantly changing their style throughout. Starting with simple acoustic guitar ditties, Barnes then
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It’s always a strange feeling to hear that a band with a markedly long absence is going to be releasing a new album. The bar is almost always set impossibly high, since listeners are likely going to reminisce about where they were when the band last dominated musical conversations. Last year the Libertines released Anthems
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Metronomy has most recently been known for producing some of the mildest synthpop out there. Their 2011 album The English Riviera placed subdued synthesizer melodies over traditional rock instrumentation, with frontman Joseph Mount providing vocals on almost every track. Its 2014 follow-up Love Letters added a retro tint to this formula, as it was recorded
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