101 Bands You’ve Never Heard Of But Should
Monday, February 23rd, 2009101 Bands You’ve Never Heard Of But Should
Darien Venture Rocking ‘light metal’ addictive band with clever vocals and lyrics from Ayr.
Spy Movie Easy-going band with jangley guitaring from Glasgow, with a soothing female vocalist.
Three Blocks From The Wake Minimalist-electro trio from Ayrshire.
Howling Bells Upbeat-but-mellow female-led band from UK
Anna Meldrum Individual artist with happy vocals and upbeat acoustics.
Panda Su Feist-like female singer-songwriter
Dead City Riots Grungy Glasgow 4-piece
Dinosaur Pile-up UK Grunge ‘Weezer/Nirvana-style’ talented threesome
Frightened Rabbit Scottish cult mellow band, constantly gaining in popularity
Six People Away Lightly vocaled duo with electric drums and a good clever beat
Acrylic Iqon Electric-rocking multi-gender band with addictive fast riffs
The Merry Poppins Funky, jazzy, Madness-akin indie band from Austria.
65 Days of Static Multi-instrumental band with a few vocal pieces.
Kharma45 Derry-based epic crescendo-using foursome
Miniature Tigers Incredibly addictive nonchalant-seeming US band
Boycotts Female fronted indie-rocky band with complex guitaring
Brother Louis Collective Lyrically direct calming band from Glasgow. Clarinet included
We Are The Physics Intense-vocals doubled with rapid drumming Glasgow band, currently touring Japan.
Sky Larkin Definate one-to-watch from Leeds. Jangly guitars coupled with addictive beats
The Xcerts Optomistic Aberdonian band with heartfelt vocals. On the brink of stardom.
We Start Fires Modest indie-rock foursome from Darlington
Popolo Vocal-less funky band to bop along to
School of Seven Bells Sleepy psychedelic band from New York, easy-listening
Bombay Bicycle Club Featured in NME, Interpol-like vocals from a London band
FoxFace Glasgow indie/folk-rock band, with Snow Patrol-sounding male vocalist
We Are Trapped In Kansas Clever guitaring coupled with funky pauses and prolonged singing
Friendly Fires Already taken off, disco-house pop band. Touring all over
Soap&Skin Female solo artist, minimal vocals varying in pitch and speed. From Vienna
Skinflints Airy vocals with solid beats from Scotland. Great guitaring and song set-up
Twin Atlantic Scottish Blink182, very talented musicians jamming with singalongable tunes
MuteMath From New Orleans, signed to Warner Bros in USA, incredibly addictive indie-pop
Red Light Company Epic-sounding band from London, backing-vocals-tastic
Young Husband Easy-going indie band from Melbourne. Garbage-like female vocalist
Ipso Facto Dracula-style piano-workings from London. Talented female vocalist
The Boy Least Likely To UK intriguing whispering vocalist with a constant happy vibe
Fighting Wire Metal(ish) band from Northern Ireland. Jumpy, fast tunes
Cinders Fall Heavy metal duo with softer-than-usual-for-metal vocals
Dumb Instrument ‘Outstanding’ says Vic Galloway, slow and poignant band from Ayrshire
United Fruit Upbeat with shouty-lyrics band from Scotland
Flyleaf American heavy rock band with female lead
Jumpers Knee Indie-electro-rock band from Glasgow. Clever electric beat-mixes coupled with danceable tunes
5ive From Boston, USA, experimental rock band with heavy use of instrumentals
Miss The Occupier Glasgow indie-punk band, honest-sounding female lead
Rosalita English fast-paced indie band, uses synthesisers and good multi-vocals
The Anomalies Hereford-based ‘new rap’ rock group. Very original and catchy
Rumspringa Steady pop-like band from LA. Like Cold War Kids but slower.
The Bloodsugars Quirky NY band, does clever covers with good dancy backbeat
The Fazed “in a daze”-sounding band from Leicester, repetitive guitaring with effortless vocals
Little Boots One-to-watch for 2009, disco-pop mixed with dance
Porcelain and the Tramps Hard rock swirled with industrial electronica from Detriot, USA. Female lead with full-powered vocals
Soho Dolls Simple electric pop with funky pauses and changes in tune.
Sufjan Stevens Happy go lucky male from USA, easy and slow with piano accompaniment
Uh Huh Her Actress Leisha Harvey makes up one half of this rocking electric-pop duo.
The Weakerthans Indie band from USA, their track “Aside” featured in film Wedding Crashers
Young Love Rocking-beat band from NY, alike to, and supported, Academy Is
Marnie Stern Obscurely progressive indie-pop artist with influential drumming and quirky beats
Beat Union Punk-rock male band from Birmingham. Debut album out in Japan
Cocteau Twins From Grangemouth, Scotland. Sometimes-Christmassy trio with easy-listening vocals and and epic-sound.
Collective Soul Featured on the ‘Twilight’ soundtrack. Pure-of-heart classic-rock/pop band from Atlanta, Georgia.
Giant Drag Female artist from LA. Uses weird lyrics and usually-constant musical backing
Camera Obscura Upbeat classic indie band with ingenious lyrics and warming female vocals
Hollywood Undead Band made of a third rock, third hip hop, and third metal. Slightly distorted vocals, easily make a crowd rowdy. From LA, USA.
Voluntary Butler Scheme Lounge/house music-makers from Stourbridge. Simplistic and seemingly-meaningless vocals
My Dying Bride UK version of Rammstein. Gothic death metal, medium speed
Johnny Foreigner Small, quirky, random three-some from Birmingham. Jamming sound with very original and easily recogniseable vocals.
Fastlane Typical emo-pop-indie band, sounds like the younger brother of New Found Glory
Midget and Giant Acoustic duo from the UK. Low vocals with plucky guitaring and a slow pace. Surfact Metal band from Denmark. Starts slow but gets faster. Think Nickelback mixed with Switchfoot.
Ejectorseat Electric indie band from Derby. Conjures images of manga and retro computer games. Had radio play from Steve Lamacq and Jonathan Ross.
Linchpin Hotly tipped by Kerrang, kid emo band from London. Despite being in the emo category, can be generically liked.
Your New Escape Plan Mix of Placebo and Angels and Airwaves with a slower pace. From England.
Janet and the Boowalks Melodramatic acousticy pop by a group of upbeat females.
We Were Promised Jetpacks Set for stardom Glasgow foursome. Arctic-Monkeys x Futureheads indie band signed to FatCat Records
Sparrow and the Workshop 3-piece from Glasgow, sounds like tunes from old western movie soundtracks or the old Bond movie themes
Attic Lights Indie rock band signed to Island Records – so they’re getting huge. Simple, honest, Beach Boys-ish but more modern and more rocky.
Action Group Fast-paced guitar riffs with minimal low vocals. Band from Edinburgh.
The Day I Snapped Punk rock band signed to Lockjaw record label. Kinda grungy with a distorted sound.
How To Swim Ten-piece pop band from Glasgow. According to their myspace, they sound like “A leather mask in a ball-pit, lounging”. In parts they sound like Kings of Leon
The Dirty Hepburns Indie-pop band that fully exploits melodies, harmonies and multiple beats in one song. From Scotland.
Si Hayden 100% original. Poetry readings over background music of low-key drumming, piano, an many other quirky instruments
Employee of the Month Experimental rock/jazz group from Edinburgh. No vocal parts as of yet.
Wooden Box Theater Sounds like recorded fury, from Chicago, USA. Purely instrumental, drumming and percussion-led. Think Aphex Twin but less insane.
Wake the President Group of individuals from Glasgow with a slow pop sound. Acoustic-like but not acoustic. Have debut album coming out 9th March.
Gdansk Glasgow band, sound like a postmodern Editors. Great background, relaxing music
The Whiskey Works Scottish post-hardcore quartet with aggressive vocals and mammoth guitars.
Hey Vampires Hardcore punk band that takes influence from Fugazi, Alexisonfire, Test Icicles and others. On Two Tick record label
These Arms are Snakes Seattle based rock band. Uses prolonged guitar riffs with borderline screams
Minus the Bear Popular experimental American band. Echoed vocals with soothing riffs and drumming. Signed to Suicide Squeeze.
French Wives Folk pop band that incorporate violins, with influence from Belle&Sebastien, Camera Obscura etc.
Ross Clark and the Scarves Go Missing Country indie-pop band led by Ross Clark (surprisingly). Cult following with a lot of gigs and support acts in the pipeline (90)
Over The Wall Acoustic folk slow indie group. Really catchy melodies doubled with the clever linking of instruments. Gigging relentlessly for months to come.
Galchen Scottish instrumental band who experiment with percussion and electronics. Hard to define due to the constant changing sound in each track – sometimes like Arcade Fire, sometimes like Pixies, sometimes borderline Radiohead.
Running with Horses Duo originally from Australia that make honest and gritty pop songs. They complement each other’s voices and musical abilities.
Bad Dancer Unsigned UK indie band. Use unusual percussion and long instrumental parts to create an improvised-like sound.
Flood Of Red Ambient rock band from Scotland. Couples sympathetic vocals/lyrics with a quirky and elongated use of ‘normal’ instruments. Currently recording their debut album.
Stopstarts Pop semi-indie UK group. Give out a classic sound with good use of vocal noise and changes in volume.
The Berriez Take influence from Talking Heads, Led Zeppelin, Stone Roses etc. Scottish accents a-go-go and gathering momentum from XFM.
The New York Fund Ironically from London. Country rock group who sound a bit like Green Day in places.
Jocasta Sleeps Slow sounding, acoustic-in-part group from Glasgow. Heartfelt lyrics with complementary guitaring alongside.
The Cinnamons Powerpop elecro group who play incredibly sweet and catchy tunes with a gritty male lead. Based in Glasgow and unsigned. Happy Couple Parade Juno-soundtrack possibility, group from Hamburg, Germany. Incredibly honest and loving music.
About the Author
Charlotte Moss – Avenue61 Journalist
More articles by Syndicated Authors
