Pixies
For a long time I thought that Pixies weren't melodic enough and I only liked a couple of their songs. This all changed when they were about to play a show in Field Day and I really started listening to them. After a bit of effort I could see the brilliance in their alternative rock. This band is an influence to thousands of indie bands.
Dinosaur Jr.
Dinosaur Jr. is another classic alternative rock band that has been popular amongst certain people for about 30 years. The rough and piercing guitar solos, power pop melodies and J Mascis' bleak and raspy singing voice make this band really cool.
J Mascis
I almost thought that I would've been a bit bored with this man's music after so many years of Dinosaur Jr, but his solo career surprised me positively. Instead of buzzing electric guitars, his solo career is all about beautiful melodies and acoustic guitars, but still his trade mark raspy voice and occasional guitar solo show who we're dealing with here.
The Lemonheads
The Lemonheads is one of the most legendary power pop groups of the 90's. their albums It's a Shame About Ray and Car Button Cloth are filled with excellent melodic songs about real life. The attitude and melodies are both top notch.
Buffalo Tom
Buffalo Tom plays power pop with some folky influences. The most interesting feature is the voice of the singer, that sounds a lot like Paul Westerberg. The songs are catchy and the attitude is there. The songs are also appropriately melodic.
Jet Black Sunrise
Jet Black Sunrise play ambitious indie pop-rock with big emphasis on the piano. The production is very carefully made, so sometimes it sounds a bit too commercial, but the melodies and songwriting in general is really good and it's a pleasure to listen to.
Frank Black
The frontman of the Pixies has had quite a successful solo career. His solo songs are not quite as rough and heavy as the Pixies ones, but there are definitely similar tones there. The overall sound leans more towards power pop.
Sebadoh
Sebadoh is a legendary 90's alternative rock band that uses folky sounds in their bleak and melancholic music. The laconic vocals are really cool and the electric guitars are raw and beautiful. This is what alternative rock is all about.
Guster
Buster makes very melodic indie pop rock. The songs are very catchy and especially the choruses have excellent sounds as well with clean electric guitars chiming in harmony. The vocals are pure and clean and pleasure to listen to.
Marina Evans
Marina Evans makes beautiful indie folk/alt country music with slight soul influences in her vocals. Her band uses some slide guitars over excellent acoustic guitar picking with some aid from a banjo. Her vocals are extremely beautiful.
Scud Mountain Boys
Scud Mountain Boys is an excellent alt country band. They play beautiful and melodic songs that sometimes even resemble the brilliance of Teenage Fanclub. The vocal harmonies are just divine. The electric guitars are skilfully played sounding very gentle and soft.
Sarah Blacker
Sarah Blacker has one of those voices that can make you weep with the sheer beauty of the voice. Her music can be described as indie folk where skilful playing is combined with beautiful melodies and overall good songwriting.
Marissa Nadler
Marissa Nadler has been one of the most acclaimed indie folk performers of the last few years. Her dreamlike voice and melancholic songs are extremely hypnotic and her voice is definitely recognisable.
The Dwells
The Dwells play cute indie folk where the male and female vocals sing in amazing harmony. The lyrics often praise the natural beauty of the US. This is the kind of music you would want to listen to while taking the train across the whole continent.
Molasses Jones
Molasses Jones plays beautiful and quiet indie folk songs with amazing acoustic guitar picking. You can hear all the little sounds that well-microphones acoustic guitar makes. his vocals are also quite personal and beautiful in their nasal kind of way.
Lou Barlow
Lou Barlow plays beautiful indie folk with amazing melancholic melodies. The quiet acoustic guitars are accompanied by soft and beautiful vocals and a variety of strange string instruments. The result is quite magical.
The Suitcase Junket
The Suitcase Junket plays beautiful Americana indie folk where the picked acoustic guitar takes the lead stage with amazingly personal vocals that kind of resemble the Tallest Man on Earth. The songs have interesting, yet catchy melodies.
Big Big Buildings
Big Big Buildings play beautiful indie folk with excellent picked acoustic guitars. The laconic and rusty voice gives the sound some rugged charm. Some of the melodies are staggeringly beautiful. Quite amazing music considering there's only a man and a guitar playing this.
Skinny Bones
Skinny Bones plays kind of lo-fi indie folk where the vocals are not always in tune, but the tones are very cool nevertheless. Humming and sharp sliding guitars together with bass-filled backgrounds sound pretty good together.
The Dirty Looks
The Dirty Looks sounds quite indie and quite commercial at the same time. The rhythms and production in general have been mixed very carefully, but the songs do not follow the typical patterns of radio hits. Quiet and dreamy indie pop.
Nemes
If you like bands like Mumford & Sons, you're bound to like Nemes. Their alt-folk sounds have quickly picked guitars, mandolins and vocal harmonies. And of course the typical stomping from bass and drums.
Girls Guns and Glory
This alternative folk band plays catchy melodies with rolling rhythms and melancholic, yet hopeful, melodies. They also use some banjos in the background. Watch out for eagworms, because these melodies really get stuck to your head.
Grey Season
This alt-folk band sounds quite fantastic. Fast banjo picking, acoustic guitars and stomping drum beats together with raspy and rugged vocals sing amazing melodies with excellent vocal harmonies. This is one of my favourite new finds on this list.
Jenee Halstead
Jenee Halstead plays melancholic and dark, minimalistic folk songs. Her singing voice is beautiful and original. The plucking banjo on the background gives this music some interesting character. There are some influences from gypsy music as well.
The Ballroom Thieves
The Ballroom Thieves plays alt-country music with catchy and cool melodies that in places almost sound like some of the folkier songs of Oasis. The clear electric guitars together with the raspy vocals sound very cool.
As the Sparrow
This alt-country band is masterful in combining picked guitar and banjo with experimental violin. The female vocals are very typical for indie bands. If you like bands like Of Monsters and Men, you will probably like this.
The Novel Ideas
The Novel Ideas plays fresh and sunny folk music with excellently picked acoustic guitars and clear vocals. There are also some beautiful vocal harmonies with male and female vocals and some horn sections.
You Won't
You Won't makes beautiful alternative folk with funny and insightful lyrics. The vocals are very nasal, but it doesn't really matter. I really like their use of accordion on top of typical indie folk instruments.
Honeysuckle
Honeysuckle plays dreamy melodies with amazing alternative folk band. The lead vocalist has a beautiful voice that immediately owns the stage. Her lead vocals are accompanied by some vocal harmonies. The band on the background is superb.
Cactus Attack
Cactus Attack plays cool alternative country music. this is like a bit more down to earth and simpler version of Wilco. This band also sounds a bit more drunk, in an authentic Irish style. There's also some saloon type pianos.
The Magnetic Fields
The Magnetic Fields have played a variety of different styles, but I guess the main style is indie folk of some sort. Their massive album 69 Love Songs has many amazing songs, but then again, there are also some not-quite-as-good songs in there. The deep baritone voice and lo-fi sounds are this band's trademark.
Fat History Month
Fat History Month plays quite lo-fi alternative folk music. The players, vocals or the production are not that good in a technical sense, but the songwriting is interesting enough. This is the kind of music that attracts indie fans who like a bit of edge to their music.
Evan Dando
The frontman of The Lemonheads also has had quite a successful solo career. His songs are a bit more down to earth than the band's songs, but there's some quiet beauty in these songs. He also uses some excellent and weird electronic sounds in some of the songs.
Joan Baez
Joan Baez has one of the most original voices in all of popular music. Her trembling and high voice is extremely beautiful. She was one of the main characters of the 60's folk scene. Some of her later songs, where the production is better, sound absolutely amazing.
Clem Snide
Clem Snide plays old-school folk music with some country-style singing that sort of resembles yodelling, but is not by far as annoying. The guitars are skilfully played and the songwriting is very good.
Arlo Guthrie
It's impossible to comprehensively say where Arlo Guthrie would be from, but I'm adding him to Massachusetts, since he has lived there for the most part of his adult life. The son of legendary Woody Guthrie makes folky country music with a couple of hits in his repertoire.
Aerosmith
For my generation, Aerosmith is best known for their massive hit albums of the late 80's and early 90's, but their best albums were made right at the beginning of their career in the mid-70's. Before Steven tyler lost his voice, he actually had quite a good voice. Also, the songs were more interesting and the sounds were better.
The Modern Lovers
The Modern Lovers is a legendary 70's band that could be thought of as the frontrunner of lo-fi rock. Their production is very simplistic and rough. This band has paved the way to bands like Orange Juice already in the mid-70's when everyone else was making highly produced concept albums.
The Cars
This band is really popular in the US, but it feels like not that many people have really heard about them in Europe. Their music is quite generic rock music with guitar solos and steady beats. I guess they're quite good in their own way, but they're not that original.
We Were Astronauts
We Were Astronauts plays up-tempo indie rock with buzzing guitars and very American style production. The vocals are raspy and quite cool. Many of the 00's indie bands liked to use similar kinds of sounds.
The Coward Flowers
The Coward Flowers plays modern indie rock with clear influences from 60's garage rock. The electric guitars sound stripped and rough and the melodies are very interesting. The production is quite rough.
The Hotelier
The Hotelier plays indie rock that has some influences from American college rock scene, but they also have some clear emo influences. The vocals are sometimes screamed through. It's like a bit rougher version of bands like Modest Mouse or Frightened Rabbit.
Shakusky
Shakusky plays progressive indie rock with interesting rhythm changes. the electric guitars are buzzing with quite rough sounds, while the vocals are laconic and unenthusiastic harmonies sung by a man and a woman.
textbookcopilot
This indie band uses strong overdriven electric guitars and loud drumming. There is some singing in their songs, but it's definitely not their main thing. It's all about the electric guitars and chiming sounds that turn into explosions.
The Blackboard Nails
This indie band sounds has definitely listened to their fair share of 90's alternative rock bands. There are some grunge influences in their otherwise quite sunny and melodic music. The choruses are quite catchy.
Viva Viva
Viva Viva plays modern surf rock indie with sharp electric guitars. The melodies are quite catchy and especially the choruses make you dance and sing along. It's more based on riffs than on melodic instrumentation.
Here We Just Dream
This band is like a modern version of the 70's progressive rock bands. They have many post-rock influences from more modern bands, but the rhythm changes and mathematical guitars are more familiar from those 70's bands.
Geometrists
Geometrists play pleasant indie pop rock with skilfully played guitars. The vocals are nasal and kind of weird, but that's only a good thing, since it makes their sound quite unique. The drummer is particularly good.
The Rare Occasions
The Rare Occasions plays dream-like indie songs that turn in choruses to explosive and interesting sing-a-longs. They have a great sense of drama switching between quiet and loud. They're also very good with production and sounds.
Pretty & Nice
This band sounds like it has taken most of its influences from the strangest songs of the Blur's early career. They include some 60's psychedelia sounds with stomping indie pop melodies. Again, the riffs are in a more important part than the melodies.
Bent Shapes
Bent Shapes plays fast and up-beat indie rock with chiming electric guitars and fast drum rhythms. The vocals are nothing special, but still they fit in with this kind of music quite well. This is music for active summer days.
Eldridge Rodriguez
This indie rock artist's music uses fast disco beats and sharp electric guitars in their music. The vocals are very quiet compared to other instruments and it does not compare to the skill of the rhythm section. The riffs and beats are quite interesting though.
Horsehands
This band plays mainly instrumental indie rock songs that have taken lost of influences from the 60's surf rock genre. The sounds are very modern though, which makes their music sound a lot like 00's indie.
Bunny's Swine
This oddly named band plays cool and folky indie rock with kind of manly lyrics despite of their song names such as 'Everybody Buys You a Kitten'. The electric guitars sound quite stripped and the indie vocals resemble those of Modest Mouse.
Magic Island
Magic Island plays indie rock with some funky beats. The sounds resemble many of the British indie bands, like The Libertines. The sounds and songwriting are classy and the melodies are quite interesting.
Miss Geo
This indie rock artist plays cool guitar-led songs with lots of attitude. The choruses get extra power from chiming electric guitars and the catchy melodies. Some of the songs are a bit too commercial for my taste, but picking the right songs makes this artist sound excellent.
Arms and Ears
Arms and Ears is a modern kind of indie band that knows how to hook the listener right from the first notes. The female singer is great and the massive violins and stomping drums together with choral singing sound amazing.
Krill
Krill plays rough and sharp electric guitars in their style of indie rock. The vocals are strange and nasal. They also know how to mix up the rhythms to make interesting and unexpected events to their songs.
The Lowbred Watts
This indie band uses very rough and lo-fi sounds. The result is a bit too un-melodic for my taste, but I guess the attitude makes up for the poor quality of the sounds. This kind of music shows that even people who may not be most skilful can make interesting music.
Answerman
Answer man plays lo-fi indie rock with very raw guitar sounds. The rhythms are quite interesting, but I think they loop some riffs a bit too much. It gets boring after a while of similar kinds of riffs. There's not much vocals either.
The Sun Parade
The Sun Parade is an indie rock band that plays quite raw electric guitar riffs over modern rock rhythms. The sounds are not very produced and sometimes I would hope for a bit better recordings. Some of the songs sound a bit like The Black Keys, but in a more lo-fi version.
Luke Temple
Luke Temple plays rhythmic indie pop with beautiful piano and guitar parts. The overall sound kind of resembles Grizzly Bear. The vocals are high and gentle. The production is extremely well made, but the songwriting could be a bit more interesting.
Magic Magic.
Magic Magic. plays airy and melodic indie pop with modern echoey sounds. They combine acoustic instruments with wavy synth sounds. They also use some stranger instruments like sitar and other string instruments.
Stereo Telescope
Stereo telescope is an electronic indie pop band that uses a variety of spacey and chiming sounds on top of disco beats and catchy melodies. There's a certain amount of naivity in their sounds, which separates it from more commercial electro bands.
Covey
Covey plays echoey and dreamy indie pop, where strange and nasal vocals accompany quiet and slow melodies. There are some post-rock elements in the guitars, but the main sound is a lot closer to radio-friendly pop.
Quilt
Quilt plays classy indie pop rock where the the rhythms have an important role. The electric guitars play quite psychedelic riffs and the female vocalist sings in soft and cool voice. This is music for sunny beaches.
Andrew Scandal
Andrew Scandal makes modern indie pop rock in a singer-songwriter style. The songs sound quite personal and the sounds have probably been recorded at least partially with home recording. I would maybe like to hear a bit more varied melodies.
The Doctor Fox
The Doctor makes strange gypsy style country-pop-punk. If you think this sounds complicated, you have no idea, because the genre of this artist is even more difficult to pin down. There are lots of fiddles and catchy melodies.
Jenna Paone
Jenna Paone is an excellent singer. Her voice is both soft and strong. The songs are beautifully composed with excellent rises and lows. This is singer-songwriter music as it should be. The pianos and drums make interesting sounds together.
Ruby Rose Fox
Ruby Rose Fox makes strong sounding indie rock with some soul and blues influences. Her voice is very strong and the background band really knows what to do with their instruments. The melodies are very good as well.
Kid Mountain
Kid Mountain plays rhythmic indie pop with strong emphasis on rhythms. The melodies are very simple and not very interesting, but I guess the combination of instruments and sounds can keep you interested for a while.
Audrey Ryan
Audrey Ryan's music is filled with echoey guitars and dreamy melodies. Her voice is a bit stingy for this kind of music, but the songs are carefully composed and there's a certain type of good hypnosis in them.
Tall Heights
Tall Heights play beautiful and echoey indie pop where the high and low male vocals sing simultaneously making interesting vocal harmonies. The instrumentation mainly consists of echoey electric guitars, other string instruments and drums.
Fax Holiday
Fax Holiday plays beautiful indie pop with very slow tempo and melancholic melodies. The instrumentation revolves around pianos and clean electric guitars. There are also some drums, but their role isn't that big.
Dressed for the Occasion
Dressed for the Occasion plays bluesy indie rock with some Americana influences. The electric guitars are sharp and pounding. The vocals are raspy and they actually make this music really recognisable.
Morphine
Morphine makes bluesy and garage style rock music with cool baritone vocals. They also use saxophone quite skilfully in the songs. Some of this music reminds me of Tom Waits' Island years. It's not quite as crazy though.
Speedy Ortiz
Speedy Ortiz plays quite artsy indie rock with piercing sounds and melancholic melodies. The female vocals are laconic and cool, while the electric guitars are stripped and grungy. Great music for the grim moments of anger and sadness.
Vundabar
Vundabar plays modern and artsy indie rock with special focus on the rhythms. There are some similarities to bands like TV on the Radio. The cool sounds mix echoey electric guitars with grungy overdrive.
L.A. Jeff
L.A. Jeff plays kind of lo-fi garage rock with sharp electric guitars. This sounds like it's been recorded in a garage or some other rehearsal place, so that the sounds feel really authentic and present.
Ribs
Ribs plays quite typical 00's indie rock where the electric guitars are in the most important role. The vocals are not that impressive, but the muffled style is appropriate for this kind of harder indie rock sound.
Ghost Box Orchestra
Ghost Box Orchestra makes psychedelic garage rock with buzzing electric guitars and stomping drumming. They know how to make electric guitars weep in different styles. This is what it's like when the Krautrock of the 70's meets with modern studio sounds.
The TeleVibes
The TeleVibes is a modern psychedelic rock band, but it's sounds are more familiar from the 60's and 70's. The guitars sound old but in a good way. This is true hippy music with trembling and buzzing guitars.
Creaturos
Creaturos plays lo-fi garage rock with some psychedelia spices. The electric guitars sound stripped, yet quite fierce. The vocals have been muffled and it's difficult to make out the lyrics, but then again, it's really not about the lyrics.
Stone Giant
Stone Giant plays hard stoner rock with overdriven guitars and grunge style loud singing. The guitars have some hero attitude. They also use some piano on the background. There are some interesting solos in between verses.
All Talk
This fast and fierce indie rock band plays in garage sounds mixed with strange high guitar picks. The vocals are very light compared to the sounds that the band is playing. There are some 60's psychedelia influences in there as well.
Sunburned Hand of the Man
If you like weird music, this must be right up your alley. I don't know if you can, by any standards, call this popular music anymore. It's more like a collection of strange noises like in a modern art installation with just sound.
Future Spa
Future Spa plays rough surf rock with violently piercing electric guitars and non-melodic sounds. There's a definite 60's garage sound in these songs, but I guess this has a bit more modern tone to it. It's quite lo-fi.
Midriffs
Midriffs plays sunny psychedelic rock in the style of the 60's. The guitars are stripped down and sound organic. The riffs are quite good. This is what it sounds like when being retro becomes completely cool.
Magic Shoppe
Magic Shoppe plays psychedelic stoner rock with lots of loops and a bit out-of-tune electric guitars. The bass and drums work well together to create a hypnotic waves of sound. The vocals have been muffled a bit.
Aüva
This 60's style psychedelia pop band sounds fresh despite of their old influences. There are some hypnotic dream pop elements in the sounds as well. The changing male and female vocals sound good together.
Courage Cloak
Courage Cloak plays psychedelic post-rock where the guitars have lots of echo and the rhythms change in interesting ways. They also know how to make noise with huge guitar walls and heavy drumming.
Plastic Waves
Plastic Waves plays modern post-pop (if that is a genre). They have psychedelic melodies over echoey guitars and space-like organ sounds. The vocals zoom in and out in a strange fashion. Interesting production with lots of strange sounds.
Galaxie 500
This indie band has taken lots of influences from 60's psychedelia and from surf rock, but the result is quite alternative. This actually sounds really British for some reason. I guess it's because of the similarities with bands like Jesus and Mary Chain.
The Curtain Society
The Curtain Society plays alternative rock with somewhat 80's sounds. The guitars buzz and chime while the vocals are simplistic and laconic. This can be compared to bands such as Ride or The Church.
Mini Dresses
Mini Dresses plays echoey shoegaze with definite influences from the 80's new wave. The dreamy vocals sore high above muffled sounding echoey guitars and pounding melodic bass. There's both sunshine and industrial feel to this band.
Squirrel Flower
Squirrel Flower plays hypnotic and echoey dream pop with slow tempo. There are definite similarities to Mazzy Star and Julee Cruise. This is great music for relaxing after a busy day or to lazy daydreaming.
The Living Sleep
The Living Sleep is, in a lack of a better word, "classic" post rock. The echoey and moody pianos and clean electric guitars rise from quiet and beautiful melodies to huge buzzing walls of sound. Amazing talent with the instruments.
Mission of Burma
Mission of Burma is a post-punk band that uses some lo-fi aesthetics and off-tune sounds in their songs. They have definitely listened their fair share of bands like Joy Division. The bleak vocals sound good on top of the industrial and dark guitar loops.
Só Sol
Só Sol plays Americana music with quite rough garage sounds. Their electric guitars growl authentically and the laconic female vocals give the music interesting tone. The melodies are quite simple, but still with nice amount of variety.
The Dresden Dolls
The Dresden Dolls is a strange band using naive melodies that could be from children's songs or advertisements, but the sounds are cool and appropriate for 80's or 90's alternative rock scene. Truly alternative music.
They Might Be Giants
Like the band above, they Might Be Giants also make strange and naive melodies with kind of humorous sounds. It's sometimes difficult to decide if their music can be taken seriously or if it's just goofing around. Some of the songs are still very good.
The Deadly Gentlemen
The Deadly Gentlemen play excellent folk music with skilfully picked guitars and banjos. I really like the fiddles that are played over the Americana melodies. The vocals are also fairly good and there are some interesting harmonies as well.
Tredici Bacci
This alternative band plays strange bossa nova style indie songs with interesting choices of instrumentation. It's about impossible to define the genre of this band, since there are influences from just about everything.
Jonathan Richman
Jonathan Richman plays great melodic songs with funky groove. The style of the music is probably closer to indie rock, even if the rhythms follow 70's funk and soul. The sounds are not very well produced, but it gives the music nice authenticity.
The I Want You
The I Want you plays groovy indie rock with strange sounds. The vocals are quite lo-fi and laconic, while the guitars and organs have interesting spacey sounds. I bet this music would work brilliantly live.
Carissa Johnson
Carissa Johnson plays 90's style post-punk that has some similarities to skate punk. The vocals are cool and the melodies are very catchy. Excellent music to dance to and jump up and down to. I can feel the summer in this.
Cave In
Cave In is one of the best college rock bands of the 90's. The rough electric guitar riffs work seamlessly with the bass and drums and the songs are quite melodic and catchy. There are traces of grunge, but the overall picture is sunnier and more melodic.
Shambles
The music of Shambles sounds very much like college rock or skate punk, but it also has the similar feel in the melodies to later folk punk genre. The music is very melodic and the vocals are incredibly American.
The Offseason
The Offseason is a college rock band with growling vocals. The drums are played quite skilfully and the bass booms low. The vocals have been improved by studio technology, which makes them sound a bit plastic.
Butterknife
Butterknife plays fresh and sunny college rock with some elements from more typical 90's alternative rock. The bass has lots of treble and joins in playing melodies with the chiming guitars. The vocals have been doubled almost throughout.
Mean Creek
Mean Creek plays indie rock with garage style heavy guitars. The songs are quite melodic and the choruses are pretty catchy. There are both male and female vocals that take turns and sing harmonies. The sounds are nicely organic.
I Kill Giants
I Kill Giants is a skate punk band that uses some guitar riffs similar to many 90's alternative rock bands. the vocals are sung in a bit off-key fashion and the technique is very poor. This just improves the attitude though.
Camden
Camden plays fresh sounding indie rock with fast tempo disco beats and overdriven electric guitars. There are some clear influences from some of The Smiths songs, but the sounds are definitely more from the 00's.
Aviator
Aviator makes interesting indie rock with lots of strange rhythms and aggressive yelling singing. It's like a combination of math rock and grunge. The vocals can be a bit too aggressive for someone who has used to normal singing.
Letters to Cleo
Letters to Cleo sounds like a typical 90's alternative rock band. there are similarities to British bands like Elastica or Sleeper. The female vocals are fresh and clear, but the electric guitars have appropriate levels of growl.
Rebuilder
Rebuilder sounds a lot like the skate punk bands of the 90's, but the sounds are more 00's. Some of the melodies actually sound like the folk punk movement of the 2010's. The sounds are very commercial, but still very well done.
The Upper Crust
The Upper Crust is a hard rock band that sounds a bit like AC/DC, but with a twist. The vocals are closer to alternative rock bands of the 90's and the sounds are quite modern as well, even though the real influences are from the 70's and 80's.
Faces in the Floor
Faces in the Floor makes muffled sounding grunge style aggressive rock music. The overdriven guitars play aggressive riffs while the vocals try to sound strong, but fail to be as impressive as most of the grunge bands of the 90's.
Boston
Boston is a hard rock band that uses clear influences from original rock n' roll songs. Some of Boston sounds may be a bit too commercial for my taste, but their attitude is great and there's lots of talent in the players. The album covers are quite amazing.
California X
California X plays riff based hard rock with alternative twist. The songs draw influences from punk as well as rock. The vocals are alright, but there's not enough power to really fill the room as I would expect from a band like this.
Beware the Dangers of a Ghost Scorpion!
This band has a strange and long name, but once you hear their music, I think it kind of makes sense. Their music takes influences from 60's surf rock even though the sounds are more aggressive. These guys must really appreciate songs like Misirlou.
Ben Katzman's DeGreaser
This music is probably as aggressive as I can take in. Scruffy electric guitars riffs and banging drums. The vocals are not always in tune. The lyrics are quite hilarious though. For example the song I have on the playlist is called Virgo Babe in a Maiden Shirt.
Dead Cats Dead Rats
This alternative rock band plays fast beats with drums and overdriven electric guitars. I would basically call this punk, but the melodies are actually quite good and the singer sings to the tune, so I'm inclined to call this rock.
Zip-Tie Handcuffs
This rock band plays growling electric guitars that almost compare to heavy metal. The vocals, on the other hand, are much lighter and the melodies are also quite conventional and even uplifting having influences from 60's psychedelia.
Pile
Pile plays quite aggressive alternative rock with heavy bass sounds and strange melodies. There are some quite clear elements taken from grunge, but the songs are a bit more complicated with their rhythm changes.
Kal Marks
Kal Marks plays alternative rock with heavy guitar sounds and pounding drumming. There are similarities to 80's alternative rock bands like Pixies and Dinosaur Jr. The nasal vocals are kind of out of tune, but also kind of interesting.
The Life Electric
This band is a bit too commercial for my taste. Some of their sounds are like straight from MTV pop, but the general style is still closer to 00's commercial indie rock such as The Killers. The melodies are quite good, but I would hope for a bit more organic sounds.
Ashley Jordan
Ashley Jordan makes beautiful singer-songwriter songs. The general sound is quite commercial, but her voice is quite incredible, so I think it's well worth listening to her songs. Not sure about the lyrics though, they're quite corny.
Air Traffic Controller
This band plays indie pop rock with cheery sounds and catchy melodies. The approach is quite commercial, but the production has been done tastefully, so it's nice to listen to. They also have some nice folksy acoustic guitars in the background.
Tigerman Woah!
This wild bluegrass band plays nice folk jams with growling hobo-style vocals. I really like their use of banjo. The effect really wouldn't be the same with a more polished singer. The bluesy throat voice really makes a difference.
The Mighty Mighty Bosstones
This ska band plays fairly typical ska rhythms. The guitars pluck in a familiar fashion and the horn section knows their stuff. The vocals have nice amount of raspiness. I'm not really that much of a fan of ska, but I guess this band is quite alright.
Fear Nuttin Band
Fear Nuttin Band plays modern reggae with some hip hop influences. I'm not usually a friend of this style of music, but these guys really do this well and it's a pleasure to listen to even though I'm slightly annoyed by the style.
The Bridgebuilders
This band really is quite unique. The string instruments play sharply in the background while a man with a strong and growly voice belch out amazing sounds. The melodies are quite typical folk melodies.
Bella's Bartok
This band plays wild gypsy style jams with a bluegrass style ho-down mentality. They also use interesting Mexican style horn sections in their songs. It's kind of difficult to pin point the style here, but I can say that it's interesting.
Joy Kills Sorrow
It's a bit of a shame that this fantastic band is so late on this list, but I found it among the last ones for this list. The female vocals in this fast tempo folk band are absolutely brilliant. The use of guitars and banjos is top notch and the melodies are really interesting as well.
Amory Sivertson
This singer-songwriter plays nicely alternative sounds even though the melodies are quite simple. The vocals are not pitch perfect, but they still sound very nice because the tone is just right. The instruments are played very skilfully.
Seth Wonkka
Seth Wonkka makes quite cheesy sounding singer-songwriter music, but in all their cheesiness, the songs still sound very good. He has a great voice and the guitars sound natural with some skills in the strumming.
Black Marmot
Black Marmot plays easygoing folk music with a great use of guitars and banjos. The female vocals are beautifully pure and the melodies in all their simplicity are very beautiful. The bass lines are also worth mentioning.
George Woods
George Woods plays sunny sounding singer-songwriter music where the picked acoustic guitars intertwine with mandolins. The female vocals in the background are quite good as well. It's quite radio friendly, but not in a bad way.
Ryan Montbleau
This singer-songwriter is a masterful guitar player. His acoustic guitar really sounds like the Spanish guitar. His vocals are quite masterful as well, but the guitar is definitely the main thing here. The melodies are quite good as well.
Hana Kahn
Hana Kahn plays beautiful piano-led ballads where her unique voice soars like a dream through the maze of sleepy songs. There are also some excellent vocal harmonies in the background. There's great power in the vocals.
Terri Lyne Carrington
This blues singer sounds quite amazing. Her career ranges from pure jazz songs to more commercial blues songs, where I think her voice really can show its full potential. The soulful songs are played really skilfully.
Jaki Byard
Jaki Byard plays beautiful old school jazz music with a piano. He has appeared in many different combos, but I like the trio with bass and drums the best. It's not very experimental when it comes to jazz, but his piano playing is quite amazing.
Chick Corea
It's kind of tricky to say where Chick Corea comes from, but since he grew up in Massachusetts with getting to know music from his father, I put him down here. Corea is one of the most innovative jazz keyboard players of all times and his songs have been a great influence for 70's progressive rock.
Paul Gonsalves
Paul Gonsalves is a saxophone player that makes quite traditional jazz standards. I like his minimalistic style where the tone of his instrument is clear and really focuses on excellent sound of the sax.
Johnny Hodges
Johnny Hodges plays the saxophone really masterfully. His style of jazz is maybe a tad cheesy, but it's sometimes nice to listen to this type of music as well. It's like the music you normally hear in the old Woody Allen films.
Harry Carney
Harry Carney is a saxophone player who has played in various combos. His style in jazz is quite commercial and some of the songs he plays are a bit too cheesy for my taste. Nevertheless, he's quite a virtuoso.
Max Kaminsky
Max Kaminsky is a trumpet player and bandleader who used to make old-school jazz that sounds like the old Hollywood films. These songs could be straight out of a Woody Allen film where he's having his monologue with his nervous voice.
Carol Sudhalter
Carol Sudhalter is a saxophonist. She is playing quite conventional and commercial jazz tunes, but the tone of her saxophone is quite remarkable. It's a pleasure to listen to these kinds of relaxing jazz ballads.
Barbara Carroll
Barbara Carroll is a jazz pianist, who plays beautiful jazz ballads. Her style to playing is quite minimalistic where the notes that she's not playing matter as much as the ones she does. Very relaxing music.
Ran Blake
Ran Blake is a jazz pianist who plays relaxing and hypnotisingly beautiful jazz ballads. The style is very simplistic and there are lots of quiet spaces in his music. This is the kind of music that works brilliantly for the lonely walks home in the dark.
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