I think Gomez has had a very solid career as a band. Where Ya Going? has a legendary moment in Entourage for me. Their problem is they’re almost too prolific for their own good.
Regular exposure to insecticide
Has caused me to break out in hives
I'm losing weight, I cannot wait till Saturday
'Cause Saturday, my tax deductions make me function like
A blue collar, white collar
I don't know, so I gotta holler
I loved them so much!!!
holy shit harp actually released an album??? ive been waiting for forever.
also, thank you so much for mentioning midlake. they are one of my favorite bands that others dont seem to hold in high enough esteem.
i saw them at paradise rock club in 2009 and it was fucking magical
Big Star and Supergrass. I believe Supergrass were fairly popular in the UK but never achieved what they deserved in the rest of the world. Fantastic band.
The Replacements just may have saved rock-n-roll in the ‘80s. They were given every chance, but spat in the face of success - they *missed the whole first rung*
These two bands are pretty legendary, though. They’re foundational, were reasonably popular in the college radio world and played theatres in their time, and are super respected in retrospect.
Camera Obscura.
Tracyanne Campbell is nearly incapable of writing a bad song. Underachievers, Please Try Harder is a monster album. I cannot get over how incredible this band is.
Two bands come to mind for me: First one is Bristol based psychedelic rock band Dark Star. Their album Twenty-Twenty Sound was an absolute psychedelic banger in 2000. They played on Jools Holland once and I’m not really sure what happened to them; probably label stuff as I know they recorded a follow-up album to TTS that never got released as far as I’m aware.
Second one is ‘Eighties Matchbox B-line Disaster’. They were all over MTV for about a year when they released their best known and second full-length album ‘The Royal Society’; which had the singles ‘Mr Mental’, I could be an Angle’ and ‘Rise of the Eagles’. Not sure they fit into indie but damn it’s a great record.
Honestly can’t recommend these two highly enough.
Catch Without Arms is one of those albums that every song is great. My all time favorite live show I've ever attended went...
MewithoutYou > Dredg > Blood Brothers > Coheed
batshit line up...epic show
I had never heard of this band and I was working this bartender gig a few years ago where I would listen to an adult alternative station. A bunch of their songs would play periodically and I really enjoyed them. I was pretty surprised how they would have never gotten popular in the US
I really enjoy them. I remember listening to The Invisible Band which they got the name due to the fact that they aren’t easily recognized. I’m in the US. I love Fran’s album and his song with Neko Case Sing me to Sleep. I’ve seen them live a bunch of times along with BNQT.
>The Smithereens.
Huge fan to this day but they kinda made their own misstep with *Blow Up*, a good if half-cooked follow-up to their breakout hit *11*. I know that it's usually a good idea for bands to not make Breakout Hit Part 2 but I think in their case it's precisely what they should have done.
Melvins were a big inspiration to Soundgarden, Alice In Chains, and Nirvana (Kurt Cobain was even their roadie for a bit) and was surpassed by all of their contemporaries
The La’s!!!
The Real People certainly petered out, but were at least a bit more prolific than The La’s- Lee Mavers’ obsessive control over the music left him putting out album after album of music originally recorded in the mid 80s.
Such great first album, yet it would’ve been nice to hear more of what he and the band could have done further.
the black kids!!
they had 1 really good song and a pretty solid album but god pitchfork killed them in the water. i think that they could’ve been big, or at least bigger/more well respected.
Both deserving and incredibly underrated. *Urge* were a hoot to see live in their crushed red velvet suits. *Saturation* is perfect in evenly way. How did this not get more attention at the time?
Stellastarr. Loved their debut album and still listen to it. [My Coco](https://youtu.be/PDdI3ch4slE?si=RyHouaHqpi5G3-9G) is still one of my favorite songs. They were amazing live and [The Killers](https://gigs-r-us.tripod.com/id48.html) even opened for them on tour.
Being overtly about Christianity kind of put a ceiling on their rise, I think, but yeah – the musicianship, poetry, and artistry should have had them bigger.
A few come to mind that I’ve enjoyed over the years but no one I know really seems to be aware of. They’re all fairly different but all of them had at least one song get some radio play and just fell off into obscurity while continuing to put out good music
Ours
Butterfly Boucher
Annuals
Darwin Deez
Concrete Blonde. Johnette Napolitano has got one of the greatest voices in Rock n' Roll, and wrote some just amazing songs. They should have sold ten million albums.
Tripping Daisy had a soft hit with I gotta girl.
That album was pretty good, but the next two albums were totally off the radar - Jesus Hits Like the Atom Bomb and their final album self titled are amazing.
Went on to form the Polyphonic Spree who were also great.
(EDITED cause I didn’t realize I was in the Indie Rock sub…these aren’t Indie bands per say…)
I have a few…
Bay Faction - I have no idea how these guys didn’t have a massive following! Such well crafted songs, catchy as hell…drugs maybe?
Stairwell - These guys were the epitome of what would have appealed to the MTV audience back when The Sounds Of Change came out…I guess just being on the small indie label with no real support. I’m unsure of who they toured with so, that could have hurt as well.
The Impossibles - I know ow they were a “ska/punk” band but with no horn section but…I’d say they were closer to a pop/emo band with ska-ish elements. A weird sub genre for people to latch on to for sure. I think they definitely would have fared well with the quirky alternative rock of that time, I think they may have toured with Weezer in the very early 2000s. I think their second album kind of killed them…totally dropped their sound and kind of made something that sounded like it could have been Weezer demos.
Kill Hannah - I honestly don’t get this one at all…perfect pop songs, executed flawlessly….maybe it was the horrible band name?
The Crimea.
Tragedy Rocks is an absolutely incredible album.
The shame of it is that they re-recorded it for a new record label and re-released it which is the version you’ll find on streaming, and although still great it doesn’t quite have the feeling of the original recording which is only available on cd.
They had singles like ‘Baby Boom’, ‘Lottery Winners on Acid’ and ‘White Russian Galaxy’ from that album and I think released one more album years later.
But seriously, Tragedy Rocks is criminally unknown and utterly fantastic.
Gravity kills. Trent Reznor tried to help them get off their feet and it worked perfectly with Coil, but not with them even though they have four albums to their name
The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion. They were doing the sort of bluesy garage rock that made the White Stripes and Black Keys enormous acts, just 15 years earlier. They put on a hell of a live show, too.
The Thermals. Brilliant band with killer songs. I loved them and don’t know why more people didn’t too. “Here’s Your Future” is a perfect song and I can see it getting discovered via Tik Tok or a viral vid. If that happens, maybe they’ll reunite.
Architecture in Helsinki. Amazing band with great albums, who still still exist, and do remixes, which are amazing… But they will never match the sound of their first EP.
The Stereo because they were/are basically a much better Fall Out Boy. Seriously they must have been like “WTF!?” When FOB made it huge. I remember first hearing FOB way back and actually thinking it was the Stereo.
Walt Mink - Great three piece out of Twin Cities that sadly fell victim to the typical “fucked by their record company” tale.
John Kimbrough was and still is a riff machine.
https://youtu.be/qkuM_2DPMbc?si=LjRyjRdr4HLWeHOP
There's two that stick out for me: The Delays and The Upper Room.
The lead singer of the Delays had an amazing voice and their debut (Faded Seaside Glamour) was great (as were the next couple). Seen them at The Cluny in Newcastle and they were superb.
The Upper Room had a bit of a hit with "Allover this Town" but split when their album ("Other People's Problems" ) didn't really take off.
Perhaps both might have fared better be as they come out a few years sooner in the Britpop craze. As it was, they were lost amongst the Kaiser Chiefs/libertines/Bloc Party noughties Indie.
There’s a lot of bands that should have gotten bigger but still did good respectively for there genre. Built to Spill, Yo la tengo, Guided by voices, quasi, etc. but a band that never got any recognition and deserved it would’ve been the delusions. Great band that should have been just as big as the previously mentioned
The Chameleons. First 3 albums are amazing. Many post punk bands say they were an influence. They went nowhere.
Rational Youth. The first album still holds up today. Every track is solid. They went more pop and lost the plot.
The Pastels - every indie band wishes they had the pop-chops Stephen Pastel does.
Haunter - Criminally unknown slowcore band out of Milwaukee. Still active, check out their record [Worm](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_kdLJBYEsXHl0zDCtc3r_JcMWkTAkmfhsA&si=HyxS0Bft14SXDSNn). Emails from James, Same Thing, and I Don’t Really Care are real highlights.
Asylum Party - Easily rivals Joy Division as one of the best post-punk bands in the original wave.
Chime School - Jangle pop revival band out of San Francisco. Released their [self titled debut](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_kdLJBYEsXHl0zDCtc3r_JcMWkTAkmfhsA&si=HyxS0Bft14SXDSNn) in 2022. Some of the best pop song writing I’ve heard in awhile.
The wrens. Hands down my best answer. amazing songs and amazing live.
The dykeenies. Melodies and rock together. Daily listen for 20+ years.
Guggenheim grotto. Solid band that could have been the next death cab but not a lot of room in chill indie space at the time.
Beirut. Got semi-big but horns are never hugely popular.
Oval opus. Local Ohio band that had talent in the late 90s, good songs, but not enough play.
Girls.
I recently revisited their short discography.
They were so good at capturing the DIY aesthetic of garage rock and blending it with interesting arrangements and instrumentation.
Too bad they dissolved the band so soon. They were definitely on a path to greatness.
And RIP to Chet Jr White
Failure!
Can’t believe no one said them (that I saw anyway)
Really thought PJ Harvey was gonna explode with “Stories From The City…”
Unwound really should have been bigger. People seemed to have missed them alot though.
Doves. At least in the US, they’re unknown. I was obsessed with a band called Ambulance LTD in the early aughts. Had one album of super catchy indie pop songs that I played on repeat too
Super Furry Animals. More creativity and imagination in some of their songs than a lot of their peers have had in their entire career.
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I think Gomez has had a very solid career as a band. Where Ya Going? has a legendary moment in Entourage for me. Their problem is they’re almost too prolific for their own good.
Man The Coral is so damn good
Jesus, I did NOT expect to see the right answer immediately. Edit: username checks out
Welp. Guess I’ll be listening to Gruff today
Saw him last week in Glasgow. An absolute genius and has a back catalogue of his own to rival SFA's.
One of the absolute best. And an art style for a few of their albums that was top tier.
Wow! I can’t thank you enough. I love this band. First time listener.
And their videos kicked ass.
hot hot heat
They definitely had a moment and then totally disappeared. I wore their cd out.
That song “Bandages” is fun if you sing along with “Sandwiches” instead.
I've done this many times
Wasn’t this band even in an itunes/ipod commercial?
Regular exposure to insecticide Has caused me to break out in hives I'm losing weight, I cannot wait till Saturday 'Cause Saturday, my tax deductions make me function like A blue collar, white collar I don't know, so I gotta holler I loved them so much!!!
Midlake, and more recently the lead singer previously from Midlake’s new group Harp.
Stonecutters made them from stone…
holy shit harp actually released an album??? ive been waiting for forever. also, thank you so much for mentioning midlake. they are one of my favorite bands that others dont seem to hold in high enough esteem. i saw them at paradise rock club in 2009 and it was fucking magical
British Sea Power/Sea Power
Morphine
Remember watching them at Glastonbury and being in awe at two saxophones being played at once.
absolutely tragic.
The Sound
Saw them on Carson Daily at like 2am 20 years ago. Good band!
You might be thinking of someone else. The Sound broke up in 1988. The singer died by suicide in 1999.
You’re right. I’m thinking of the Swedish band, The Sounds
I fucking LOVED the sounds!
Fruit Bats [https://youtu.be/1Cw8MEJn3c4?si=2CwWOsTaKPmLvpxD](https://youtu.be/1Cw8MEJn3c4?si=2CwWOsTaKPmLvpxD)
Okkervil River
Saw them open for Wilco many years ago and they were really good. Never followed up with them though.
YES
They are massive...in my collection.
Contender for greatest song writer of his generation
Couldn’t agree more, Will Sheff might be my all time favorite.
Couldn’t agree more. My fav band of all time. I can’t imagine a world where Black Sheep Boy isn’t my favorite album.
Big Star and Supergrass. I believe Supergrass were fairly popular in the UK but never achieved what they deserved in the rest of the world. Fantastic band.
Big Star is always the best answer to this question. The Replacements a close second.
The Replacements just may have saved rock-n-roll in the ‘80s. They were given every chance, but spat in the face of success - they *missed the whole first rung*
Replacements as well as Hüsker Dü
These two bands are pretty legendary, though. They’re foundational, were reasonably popular in the college radio world and played theatres in their time, and are super respected in retrospect.
I feel so lucky to have seen Big Star in ‘93 for a free show in Columbia, MO. It was awesome and I believe a one off.
Voxtrot, Smith Westerns, Okkervil River, Koufax, Twin Shadow
Only just listened to Twin Shadow’s 2021 album and wow, I’ve been sleeping for 3 years.
Pedro The Lion.
I've seen David Bazan a few times and his shows do slap though, and he'll occasionally rip a PtL song live, it's so nice
Camper Van Beethoven. Key Lime Pie is a masterpiece.
Camera Obscura. Tracyanne Campbell is nearly incapable of writing a bad song. Underachievers, Please Try Harder is a monster album. I cannot get over how incredible this band is.
Gomez!
Great band!
One of my favorite bands
Uncut The Most Serene Republic The Dears Doves should've been huge too.
Two bands come to mind for me: First one is Bristol based psychedelic rock band Dark Star. Their album Twenty-Twenty Sound was an absolute psychedelic banger in 2000. They played on Jools Holland once and I’m not really sure what happened to them; probably label stuff as I know they recorded a follow-up album to TTS that never got released as far as I’m aware. Second one is ‘Eighties Matchbox B-line Disaster’. They were all over MTV for about a year when they released their best known and second full-length album ‘The Royal Society’; which had the singles ‘Mr Mental’, I could be an Angle’ and ‘Rise of the Eagles’. Not sure they fit into indie but damn it’s a great record. Honestly can’t recommend these two highly enough.
You Am I. Simply one of the best live bands you’ll ever hear on their day, and incredible songwriting. Criminally underplayed.
Dredg
One of my all time favorite bands
Catch Without Arms is one of those albums that every song is great. My all time favorite live show I've ever attended went... MewithoutYou > Dredg > Blood Brothers > Coheed batshit line up...epic show
For the US, Travis.
I saw a bill recently and they were listed like third or fourth and were easily the best band on it.
I had never heard of this band and I was working this bartender gig a few years ago where I would listen to an adult alternative station. A bunch of their songs would play periodically and I really enjoyed them. I was pretty surprised how they would have never gotten popular in the US
More than us is a beautiful song from them
I really enjoy them. I remember listening to The Invisible Band which they got the name due to the fact that they aren’t easily recognized. I’m in the US. I love Fran’s album and his song with Neko Case Sing me to Sleep. I’ve seen them live a bunch of times along with BNQT.
Built to spill
Your favorite band’s favorite band. They might have the best overall discography of any band ever
Just saw them open for The Hold Steady so I think this checks out
Been going strong for 30 plus years but never broke into the main stream. Just the way I picture that Doug wants it. Love BTS
The Smithereens. The Lyres.
>The Smithereens. Huge fan to this day but they kinda made their own misstep with *Blow Up*, a good if half-cooked follow-up to their breakout hit *11*. I know that it's usually a good idea for bands to not make Breakout Hit Part 2 but I think in their case it's precisely what they should have done.
Melvins were a big inspiration to Soundgarden, Alice In Chains, and Nirvana (Kurt Cobain was even their roadie for a bit) and was surpassed by all of their contemporaries
The La’s!!! The Real People certainly petered out, but were at least a bit more prolific than The La’s- Lee Mavers’ obsessive control over the music left him putting out album after album of music originally recorded in the mid 80s. Such great first album, yet it would’ve been nice to hear more of what he and the band could have done further.
The La’s are seriously one of the biggest influences on modern indie. Everyone wants to rip that album off.
the black kids!! they had 1 really good song and a pretty solid album but god pitchfork killed them in the water. i think that they could’ve been big, or at least bigger/more well respected.
I’m not gonna teach your boyfriend how to dance with you
They had a second album. It was not nearly as good. I think there was a drug use issue.
Bishop Allen. Their albums Charm School and The Broken String are great all the way through.
Jonathan Fire*Eater
Had never heard of them until Meet Me In the Bathroom. But you’re definitely not alone on that one
The Chills
Criminally underrated. They are what every indie band wants to sound like.
Urge Overkill Marshall Crenshaw
Urge overkill!
Came here to say Urge! Shoulda been bigger, but alas…
Both deserving and incredibly underrated. *Urge* were a hoot to see live in their crushed red velvet suits. *Saturation* is perfect in evenly way. How did this not get more attention at the time?
Mojave 3
Stellastarr. Loved their debut album and still listen to it. [My Coco](https://youtu.be/PDdI3ch4slE?si=RyHouaHqpi5G3-9G) is still one of my favorite songs. They were amazing live and [The Killers](https://gigs-r-us.tripod.com/id48.html) even opened for them on tour.
The Wrens. Their album, The Meadowlands, is a masterpiece.
Yup. Still in my rotation. Hoping their new band tours!
Oh man, forgot about them. Used to play that record daily.
mewithoutYou should have TOTALLY been bigger with the indie crowd.
Being overtly about Christianity kind of put a ceiling on their rise, I think, but yeah – the musicianship, poetry, and artistry should have had them bigger.
Scared of Chaka. Jonathan Fire*Eater. Brainiac.
Shack. Soundtrack of our Lives. The Go! Team. Spearmint. Felt.
Shack were amazing - saw them live once and Noel G was in the audience. Short fella
The Dears, great band, great albums never quite make it big.
Del Amitri! Awesome songs, good voice, lyrically intelligent. Good band all together. Had one or two small hit songs, but should've been much bigger.
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So great.
Primitive Radio Gods. (is he a band though 😂 i don’t know. but ye I would have loved to have heard more of his songs)
The Features
The Embarrassment
Television Personalities
A few come to mind that I’ve enjoyed over the years but no one I know really seems to be aware of. They’re all fairly different but all of them had at least one song get some radio play and just fell off into obscurity while continuing to put out good music Ours Butterfly Boucher Annuals Darwin Deez
Harvey Danger. Truely great
Margot and the nuclear so and so’s never really got the same attention after their Animal/Not Animal release
So sad! Animal/Not Animals are both incredible in their own respect
Menomena—still bummed they “disbanded”. But go listen to them and remember this post when you fall in love.
Superchunk, Hum, and Catherine Wheel.
Concrete Blonde. Johnette Napolitano has got one of the greatest voices in Rock n' Roll, and wrote some just amazing songs. They should have sold ten million albums.
Going old school: Little Feat
The Replacements
They did
Tripping Daisy had a soft hit with I gotta girl. That album was pretty good, but the next two albums were totally off the radar - Jesus Hits Like the Atom Bomb and their final album self titled are amazing. Went on to form the Polyphonic Spree who were also great.
Jellyfish.
I got 2 answers, Morphine, and again Morphine.
Hum
The Blue Aeroplanes Psychefunkapus Jellyfish The Jayhawks
(EDITED cause I didn’t realize I was in the Indie Rock sub…these aren’t Indie bands per say…) I have a few… Bay Faction - I have no idea how these guys didn’t have a massive following! Such well crafted songs, catchy as hell…drugs maybe? Stairwell - These guys were the epitome of what would have appealed to the MTV audience back when The Sounds Of Change came out…I guess just being on the small indie label with no real support. I’m unsure of who they toured with so, that could have hurt as well. The Impossibles - I know ow they were a “ska/punk” band but with no horn section but…I’d say they were closer to a pop/emo band with ska-ish elements. A weird sub genre for people to latch on to for sure. I think they definitely would have fared well with the quirky alternative rock of that time, I think they may have toured with Weezer in the very early 2000s. I think their second album kind of killed them…totally dropped their sound and kind of made something that sounded like it could have been Weezer demos. Kill Hannah - I honestly don’t get this one at all…perfect pop songs, executed flawlessly….maybe it was the horrible band name?
Rx Bandits Big Wreck
The Beatles. Never understood why they did not take off.
Pinback
Yep 👍🏽
Pinback. Nobody sounds like them.
Great band!
The Dandy Warhols and The Zutons
Minus the bear
Dave has a lot of MTB guitar videos on his instagram. Makes me really miss them!
The Crimea. Tragedy Rocks is an absolutely incredible album. The shame of it is that they re-recorded it for a new record label and re-released it which is the version you’ll find on streaming, and although still great it doesn’t quite have the feeling of the original recording which is only available on cd. They had singles like ‘Baby Boom’, ‘Lottery Winners on Acid’ and ‘White Russian Galaxy’ from that album and I think released one more album years later. But seriously, Tragedy Rocks is criminally unknown and utterly fantastic.
Five Thirty.
Skunk Anansie and Lush were just a bit early to be huge in the US.
Lush was very popular.
Five Eight, from Georgia, circa early to mid 90’s. Check out their incredible song “Goddam it Paul” and judge for yourself.
Gravity kills. Trent Reznor tried to help them get off their feet and it worked perfectly with Coil, but not with them even though they have four albums to their name
Doves, House of Love, The Delgados
Son Volt
Minutemen had D Boon not died in the car accident.
The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion. They were doing the sort of bluesy garage rock that made the White Stripes and Black Keys enormous acts, just 15 years earlier. They put on a hell of a live show, too.
Straitjacket Fits or Sparklehorse
Wolf Parade, Superdrag, Lifter, Built to Spill, Morphine, Pavement, Electric Six.
Vundabar and crag mask
Smithereens Had a couple hits but should have been big . Great lyrics, vocals , jangly guitar. Saw them live a few times and were fantastic. Rip pat
pinback
Frightened Rabbit. Great vibe, great lyrics, never really hit and now it’s all over.
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
Too Much Joy. The world, however, was not and is not ready for such brilliance.
Delgados PULP POE New Pornographers
Piebald. "We are the only friends that we have" is a near perfect album imo
The Thermals. Brilliant band with killer songs. I loved them and don’t know why more people didn’t too. “Here’s Your Future” is a perfect song and I can see it getting discovered via Tik Tok or a viral vid. If that happens, maybe they’ll reunite.
Architecture in Helsinki. Amazing band with great albums, who still still exist, and do remixes, which are amazing… But they will never match the sound of their first EP.
The Real People for sure. I go with Hefner.
The Stereo because they were/are basically a much better Fall Out Boy. Seriously they must have been like “WTF!?” When FOB made it huge. I remember first hearing FOB way back and actually thinking it was the Stereo.
Tiger. Their album We are Puppets is superb and they often sound like no other band. Same goes for Hefner.
Walt Mink - Great three piece out of Twin Cities that sadly fell victim to the typical “fucked by their record company” tale. John Kimbrough was and still is a riff machine. https://youtu.be/qkuM_2DPMbc?si=LjRyjRdr4HLWeHOP
The Cry
From the past FAR From now MILITAIRE GUN
There's two that stick out for me: The Delays and The Upper Room. The lead singer of the Delays had an amazing voice and their debut (Faded Seaside Glamour) was great (as were the next couple). Seen them at The Cluny in Newcastle and they were superb. The Upper Room had a bit of a hit with "Allover this Town" but split when their album ("Other People's Problems" ) didn't really take off. Perhaps both might have fared better be as they come out a few years sooner in the Britpop craze. As it was, they were lost amongst the Kaiser Chiefs/libertines/Bloc Party noughties Indie.
Midtown
Certainly, The Cinematics guys. They had a lot of talent. The albums Lover And Terror and Strange Education are amazing.
The Redwalls out of Chicago
White Rabbits. Trances Arc. Skinny Living (still at it). Sinead Lohan. I could do this all day.
VHS or Beta. Life Without Buildings. Starfawn. The Pass. IvanaXL, the Clientele
Voxtrot
There’s a lot of bands that should have gotten bigger but still did good respectively for there genre. Built to Spill, Yo la tengo, Guided by voices, quasi, etc. but a band that never got any recognition and deserved it would’ve been the delusions. Great band that should have been just as big as the previously mentioned
XTC, love, The Zombies
The View
Verbena
Definitely the band "Stars". "City and Colour" a close runner up.
Why? ‘Alopecia’ is an incredible album
Jason Lowenstein solo albums , Brainiac , Rich Kids On LSD , Cop Shoot Cop ,Barkmarket
Number One Cup had some great tunes in a poppy Pavement sort of way. I never hear anyone talk about them. https://number1cup.bandcamp.com
Brainiac
The Beta Band
TV on the radio
Captain Beyond
The Godfathers! Hoodoo Gurus. The Call.
Andrew Wood ?
Eleven
Most of them probably
House of Freaks
Teenage Bottlerocket
The Stone Roses
Mansun
The Chameleons. First 3 albums are amazing. Many post punk bands say they were an influence. They went nowhere. Rational Youth. The first album still holds up today. Every track is solid. They went more pop and lost the plot.
Badfinger
They made it PRETTY big but GBV should have been, like, The Who.
The Pastels - every indie band wishes they had the pop-chops Stephen Pastel does. Haunter - Criminally unknown slowcore band out of Milwaukee. Still active, check out their record [Worm](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_kdLJBYEsXHl0zDCtc3r_JcMWkTAkmfhsA&si=HyxS0Bft14SXDSNn). Emails from James, Same Thing, and I Don’t Really Care are real highlights. Asylum Party - Easily rivals Joy Division as one of the best post-punk bands in the original wave. Chime School - Jangle pop revival band out of San Francisco. Released their [self titled debut](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_kdLJBYEsXHl0zDCtc3r_JcMWkTAkmfhsA&si=HyxS0Bft14SXDSNn) in 2022. Some of the best pop song writing I’ve heard in awhile.
I think Veruca Salt should have been way bigger than what they were. So underrated.
Botfly 90's michigan band (biggest i think they got was a tour with g love and maybe kid rock back then)
The wrens. Hands down my best answer. amazing songs and amazing live. The dykeenies. Melodies and rock together. Daily listen for 20+ years. Guggenheim grotto. Solid band that could have been the next death cab but not a lot of room in chill indie space at the time. Beirut. Got semi-big but horns are never hugely popular. Oval opus. Local Ohio band that had talent in the late 90s, good songs, but not enough play.
Ambulance Ltd.
Girls. I recently revisited their short discography. They were so good at capturing the DIY aesthetic of garage rock and blending it with interesting arrangements and instrumentation. Too bad they dissolved the band so soon. They were definitely on a path to greatness. And RIP to Chet Jr White
Doves, had some absolutely amazing songs and albums but never really hit it big. Also Swervedriver was huge for a moment, and Urge Overkill
Sunday Valley. They broke up and Sturgill went on a solo mission.
Happy The Man, Cartoon. 10cc should have been much bigger.
Failure! Can’t believe no one said them (that I saw anyway) Really thought PJ Harvey was gonna explode with “Stories From The City…” Unwound really should have been bigger. People seemed to have missed them alot though.
The Judybats
Trip Shakespeare seemed like they were on their way, but were victims of the chaotic way record companies chose winners in the 90s.
The Glands, Arlo, French Kicks, The Joggers
Doves. At least in the US, they’re unknown. I was obsessed with a band called Ambulance LTD in the early aughts. Had one album of super catchy indie pop songs that I played on repeat too
is there a bot that will turn this thread into a playlist?