AC/DC
This rock giant is known to almost everyone who ever has listened to popular music. They're not on Spotify, so I'll introduce them first here outside the list. AC/DC is known for their simple rock guitar riffs and the most ridiculous raspy singing voice around. Their golden age, in my opinion, was around the year 1980, when they released classic albums such as Highway to Hell and Back in Black.
And then for the actual list...
Boy & Bear
I found this folk-rock band about one and a half years ago and I've been very fond of their music ever since. They build strong sounds, familiar from indie rock, over folk melodies. The songs are well written and memorable. The singer's voice is original and fits in this sort of music perfectly.
Angus & Julia Stone
I will later introduce these siblings also individually, but I'm introducing them first together, because together they are better than alone. Julia's honey dripping voice gets amazing boost from her brother's high-pitched harmonies. This folk/dreampop duo makes music that cannot easily be beaten when it comes to beauty.
Sons of the East
This folk band is one of my new finds for this list. Their music is well produced while still maintaining the authentic sound of acoustic instruments. The singer is very skilled with his voice. Some harmonica and banjo playing accompany more usual band instruments.
Josh Pyke
I'm a bit disappointed that I haven't heard of this artist before. His melancholic music bears resemblance to many artists that I keep in very high esteem, such as Elliott Smith and Sufjan Stevens. The songs are not quite as amazing as the aforementioneds', but this music is still quite good for what it is.
Lady of the Sunshine
This is the stage name of aforementioned Angus Stone. Without his sister, Angus is able to put more effort into his guitar playing and making more authentic sounds. His voice works beautifully on its own as well and if you don't compare this to him with his sister, you get a quite brilliant artist.
Falls
Falls is a folk duo singing endearing and light folk songs. Male/female vocals intertwine beautifully in fairly simple songs full of sunshine and warmth. Acoustic guitars get great accompaniment from pounding drums and piano.
Something With Numbers
To be fair, I don't really like this band's sound so much. It's way too produced to my taste. However, they have some acoustic songs that sound absolutely brilliant. If only they would stick to this acoustic guitar approach, their melodramatic songs would really win my heart.
Patrick James
Patrick James represents the new folk sound in it's purest form. Great picking on guitar and banjo, airy and echoey vocals with great harmonies on the background. The songs are sometimes a little bit cheesy, but I still enjoy this music very much!
Julia Stone
Another one of the talented siblings. Julia is first and foremost a singer. Her honey dripping voice is completely unique and the voice alone makes her music fantastic. The songs are pretty good as well, but I for one miss her brother's harmonies to accompany these songs.
Betty Who
I don't like all of this artists songs, but there are some terrific airy dream pop songs full of echo and lightness. At best, this music is very hypnotic. The kind of music to listen to in the sunshine in the summer after a tiring day of being active.
Howling Bells
Howling Bells mix easy folk music with shoe gazing sound world. The first artist to come to mind is Mazzy Star. Songs are mainly acoustic, but there are some subtle electric guitars on top of it all to give it character.
Sui Zhen
Zhen sings in really high-pitched tone above subtle glockenspiels and acoustic guitars. This almost reminds me of Joanna Newsom. The songs are not quite as magical, but there is that same endearing dream world here. Instrumentation includes some rarely used instruments.
Matt Corby
This singer-songwriter makes high-pitched airy dream folk in the style of Bon Iver and James Vincent McMorrow. He draws strength for these songs from the contrast between silence and powerful drum-piano slopes. Excellent indie folk!
Cloud Control
Cloud Control is fairly traditional sounding folk music. Their songs usually have doubled vocals and great harmonies. Drums and guitars sound natural and the production is very down to earth. Melodies are also very enjoyable.
Dustin Tebbutt
Dustin Tebbutt has a very apparent resemblance to Bon Iver. He lived in Sweden for a while to draw more winter influences to his music. Airy and echoey indie folk with fantastic dreamy melodies and light feel.
Youth Group
This group really knows how to compose great songs. Their sounds could benefit from a more innovative production, but the songs are so great, that even the very simple production makes them very enjoyable. Melodic and beautiful stuff!
Bluebottle Kiss
Most of this band's songs are a bit too noisy for my taste, but their quieter songs are really good. There are definite lo-fi aesthetics in these songs. you can hear the humming and voices on the background, but the compositions are pretty good.
Leadfinger
Mandolines, guitars, raunchy singing and traditional folk tunes with the feel of drinking songs. There are definite country & western influences in the more English folk sound world. Songwriting could be a bit more exciting, but it's still very nice to listen to.
Winter People
Winter People is a very hipstery band combining folk music and produced indie aesthetics. Songs bounce from very quiet beautiful pieces to loud banging parts. The singing voice is very pleasant, yet does not necessarily have that originality that separates it from others.
Rosie Catalano
Another honey-voiced singer-songwriter from New South Wales. Catalano's songs are quite melancholic and her voice is absolutely smashing. Skilful guitars are accompanied by string arrangements and inventive drumming.
Divinyls
This 80's/90's band sounds like it should be from UK in the mid-90's. The sounds bear strong resemblance to britpop movement. I think this image is even enhanced by the fact that their song I Touch Myself was used in the first Austin Powers film.
Montana
This power pop band makes excellent and sunny music with excellent melodies and danceable fast tunes. Their music could be compared to artists like Weezer and Brendan Benson. The compositions are great but the production is not maybe the most original.
The Lovetones
This band combines folk sounds to power pop melodies in the style of The Posies. The sounds are really classy and they have some interesting quirks in them. The melodies are absolutely brilliant! This might just be a band that will start playing in my stereo much more in the future.
Tin Sparrow
Another excellent indie folk band which uses grandieuse sounds and pounding drums in the style of Of Monsters and Men. Their songs are fairytale like, larger than life epics. Sometimes I would wish for a bit more authentic sounds, but in general it's very nice stuff.
Expatriate
This band was playing in my stereo quite a lot a couple of years ago. Their music can somehow be categorised in the post-punk revival genre. It's not as dark as bands like Interpol and Editors, but there is the same kind of pounding indie rock fell to their songs.
Made in Japan
This band is really what hipster music is all about. the rhythms are weird and guitars, bass and drums are accompanied by quirky electronic sounds. The production is very classy. I guess you could call this kind of music indie rock, but it's not just about guitars.
Tom Ugly
Tom Ugly plays modern blues rock in the style of The Black Keys. His songs are melodic and skilfully played and his vocals range from clear and beautiful to raspy and rock n' roll. The instrumentation is innovative and excellently played.
Smudge
Smudge reminds me of 90's power pop bands such as The Posies and The Lemonheads. The sound world is definitely similar. Guitars buzz and drums bang loudly but the compositions still keep their melodic aesthetics.
Bridezilla
This indie rock band uses raw sounds in their guitars. There is a nice contrast with those and melodramatic strings on the background. The female vocals carry the sound of despair in the more melancholic songs.
Goons of Doom
I don't really know how to describe this band. It's a mix of indie rock/pop, lo-fi punk and power pop melodies. It basically sounds like a hamster with an ADHD, if it only could sing. The songs are very melodic but the sounds are a bit weird. Definitely original stuff.
The Cannanes
The Cannanes rides on the 90's alternative pop-rock aesthetics. Their music is a bit lo-fi, but the melodies are more commercial than with many other artists' of this genre. The female vocals are a bit laconic, but it fits with the authentic sounds of the electric guitars.
Silverchair
This band screams out 2000's indie rock that is not really that indie any more. The sounds bear resemblance to bands like Jimmy Eat World, but even more produced. There are many good sides to this music, such as the inventive use of strings and original compositions full of grief.
Brother Brick
This band makes honest power pop/hard rock with excellent melodies and buzzing guitars on overdrive. I think this genre could also be called college rock. The songs have catchy melodies, great riffs and excellent attitude.
Mercy Arms
Mercy Arms represents the guitar rock indie genre of the mid 2000's. Fast drumming and doubled guitars make up most of the sound wall, with bass keeping the beat on the background. The singer's voice is a bit off-key. Very cliché, but good at being cliché.
Wolfmother
Wolfmother got a whole lot of attention with their first album. It had the garage-sound of The White Stripes, but even more apparent influences could be found in 70's hard rock. At times it sounds exactly like Led Zeppelin, at other times you could swear it was Black Sabbath playing, but with those Deep Purple organ sounds. Absolutely brilliant retro stuff!
The Vines
The Vines caught attention in early 2000's with their hit song Get Free. This band has a lot of similarities with early 90's grunge, but the sounds are more modern and have a faster tempo. Excellent music for both grunge and hard rock fans.
Amanda Easton
Amanda Easton plays hard-blues (if that is an existing genre). The melodies are really similar to some dark blues songs, but the sounds are heavier. I guess Kate Bush has made some similar kinds of stuff, but Easton has more rock attuned vocals.
Red Riders
Red Riders are a pretty basic indie guitar band. Their songs are not masterful works of geniuses, but what they do they do quite well. If you enjoyed second and third album of The Strokes and like the general mid-00's guitar indie, I suggest you try this.
Deep Sea Arcade
This indie rock band is not just about the guitars on overdrive. They have innovative effects in their music and the melodies are a bit absurd. Great composition work results in surprising hooks and excellent party music.
The Rubens
The Rubens are a prime example of 2010's blues indie in the style of The Black Keys. The Rubens are not as aggressive and piano is given much more room in these songs, but the basic message is the same. Great big sounds and trademark indie singing voice.
The Mess Hall
The Mess Hall is a lo-fi version of the aforementioned The Rubens. Their sounds are much more raw and guitars take the main stage. The compositions are not as interesting, but the sounds bring a lot more attitude.
Glass Towers
This band sounds very 2010's. Their clean guitars intertwine with pounding drumming with weird rhythms and there are definite influences from African music. Then again in choruses the guitars may make even post-rock style sound walls.
Jagwar Ma
Jagwar Ma has been one of the trademarks of 2010's indie. The rhythms take the main stage with vocals and guitars just there for the sake of enhancing the sound world. There are definite influences from surf-rock and 60's psychedelia, but a bit more melody would be great.
Jonathan Boulet
This artist is also very 'this day' in music. His blinking and plonking guitars and drums paint huge sound atmospheres. On top of it all is the singing voice that seems kind of disconnected from other instruments. Again, there are a lot of African influences.
Jinja Safari
Jinja Safari represents rhytmic electro genre. Their sounds are innovative and the rhythm is more important than melody. There are also traces of 70's progressive rock in these crazy rhythms. This kind of music is cool right now with the hipster kids out there.
The Paper Scissors
This music is some absurd version of the 00's guitar indie bands. Their sounds are much more innovative and their compositions would definitely not work in a more acoustic atmosphere. So in other words, this is all about sounds.
Dappled Cities
Melodic indie guitar rock used to be the biggest thing for me at some point. Nowadays it's a bit dull, but if you're into that kind of thing, you should definitely listen to Dappled Cities. They make great pop-rock music with well thought of sounds.
Seabellies
Seabellies is an electro band using similar kinds of aesthetics as the guitar bands. Instead of overdrive guitars, there are synth sounds and electronic beats. In choruses you may even hear some authentic guitars once in a while.
Empire of the Sun
This electro/disco band makes all sorts of songs. To me it's weird since some of their songs are full of crap, whereas some are actually really good. I guess it all depends on the melodies. Whenever they go for melodic stuff, their music works perfectly for all your discoing needs.
Swirl
Swirl is a melancholic dream pop band painting beautiful songs mainly on echoey guitars and whispering vocals. Whenever the sounds rise higher in choruses, there are definite traces of the 90's female singer-songwriter sounds.
The Whitlams
This melodic indie pop band is not the most interesting, but their songs have nice easy-listening melodies that have subtle beauty in all their simplicity. The sounds have similarities to some 60's bands.
Spod
This band makes beautiful piano music with a baritone singer and melancholic melodies. The song Last Dance, that I'm using in the playlist fits perfectly to be the last song on the list, since it's definitely one of those last songs of the night you can walk home to in the dark.
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