Top Garage Rock Revival Artists on Rhapsody Online

Kings Of Leon

Tue, 8 Dec 2009 09:16:46 -0800

Although the media pretty much ensured that their music would have the shelf life of a banana by pegging them as the "Southern Strokes," the Kings of Leon's music really owes much more to the latter-day songs of Eddie Vedder than they do to any boogie-rhythmic Southern Rock. Sure, they sport John Fogerty-style bowl-haircuts, boot-cuts and beards, but the actual sound of their recorded music is truly more rooted in tasteful post-grunge pop (more Pearl Jam than Creed). Brothers Caleb, Nathan and Jared Followill and cousin Matthew Followill comprise the Kings of Leon, and they did actually grow up in the south under the musical influence of their evangelist father, Leon (hence the moniker). But when you look past how they (and the music media at large) incessantly label themselves up as southern rockers and when you really listen to songs like "Molly's Chambers," "Holy Roller Novocaine" or even the Strokesesque "California Waiting," the guttural growl of the vocals and bent Neil Young and Crazy Horse influences seem to point more toward Seattle in 1992 than the 1970s heartland rock they wear so proudly on their tight-fitting thrift store T-shirts. But this is hardly a bad thing. When bands like Seven Mary Three and Puddle Of Mudd drive the grunge sound into the ground with over exaggerated baritone throat gymnastics and crunchy, new, Guitar Center six-string distortion, the Kings of Leon's music is a breath of fresh air with its toned down soulful vocal yelps and vintage tube-amp guitar tones. And they can write some pretty catchy songs to boot. - Eric Shea

Yeah Yeah Yeahs

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 11:50:52 -0800

The Yeah Yeah Yeahs formed in Brooklyn, N.Y., in 2000, after guitarist Nick Zinner and vocalist Karen O met in a bar and began writing songs on an acoustic guitar together. They brought in an old friend (Brian Chase) on the drums, and decided to forgo the bass all together in an attempt to make as much of a punked-up, glammed-up racket as possible. An EP came out in 2001, when they also made their first live appearances opening up for the White Stripes. As the touring continued, so did the press. People were drawn to Karen O's punk rock/Flashdance-style of dress, not to mention her vocals, which could moan and shriek with passion and suffering. The band itself ran from dance-oriented 4/4 beats toward choppy post-punk; songs are clunky, spastic and melodic. Their debut album, Fever Too Tell, came out in 2003 and features the hit "Maps." They followed up that success with 2006's Show Your Bones. For their third release, 2009's It's Blitz, the trio took a slightly different approach, washing their gritty guitar rock in a wave of synths and dance beats. - Jon Pruett

White Stripes

Tue, 8 Dec 2009 09:16:47 -0800

Minimalist, stripped down, raw -- call it what you want. There's no denying the Detroit-based combination of Jack and Meg White packs an underhanded punch with their fierce, swaggering, cacophonous trash. After building a solid foundation of dedicated fans in the underground circuit, the group somehow found an audience in the mainstream, garnering radio and MTV exposure on their third album with explosive tracks like "Fell in Love With a Girl" and "Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground." Jack White's guitar style began to grow out of the electrified, bottleneck blues style and into something more white-hot, like Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page melding into one. The group's fourth album, Elephant, proved to be even more of a success, with "Seven Nation Army" providing a riff that was almost instantly recognizable. Increasing critical acclaim set expectations high for their fifth album, the diverse, piano-driven Get Behind Me, Satan. Meg and Jack followed that up with the irresistible Icky Thump, a return to straightforward rock that was one of the high points of '07. - Jon Pruett

The Dead Weather

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 13:06:00 -0800

Not sated by the success of their other gigs, the members of the Dead Weather first came together for an on-the-fly jam session in early 2009. From there, the synergy sizzled, and a new group of alt-rock heavyweights was born. Between the lot is a lengthy resume: Jack White is also leader of the White Stripes and the Raconteurs, not to mention an avid collaborator; Alison Mosshart offers her gritty howls as frontwoman for the Kills; Jack Lawrence plays an array of instruments plus bass guitar for the Raconteurs and the Greenhornes; and Dean Fertita lends his guitar and keyboard skills to bands like Queens of the Stone Age. With the Dead Weather, the prolific White proves his diverse skills, taking on drumming duties along with some guitar and vocals, while Mosshart, with her sly, suggestive rasp, leads her male charges through raw, bluesy garage rock inspired by classic-rock titans like Janis Joplin and Led Zeppelin. The band took no time getting its music out to the public, releasing its debut album, Horehound, in July 2009. - Stephanie Benson

Black Keys

Fri, 4 Dec 2009 13:20:34 -0800

In an Ohio city renowned for its manufacturing of rubber and tires, it's fitting that one of Akron's greatest rock exports is a duo that plays bluesy bites of garage rock oozing with loads of blue-collar rawness. The Black Keys include singer and guitarist Dan Auerbach and drummer Patrick Carney, two college drop-outs who mowed lawns for a living before turning their love for Mississippi blues and noise rock into a lucrative music career. After Auerbach's band didn't show for a recording session in Carney's basement studio in 2001, the two began recording a demo of their own, which would lead to the release of debut album The Big Come Up. Almost instantly, the Keys were inundated with comparisons to the White Stripes, but their leaning toward traditional blues and Hendrix-ish psychedelia resulted in a less pop-oriented following. They went on to release Thickfreakness in 2003, Rubber Factory the following year and Magic Potion in 2006. Opting to finally ditch the basement for a professional studio in 2008, the two completed Attack & Release, a more polished yet experimentally enhanced album with the help of producer extraordinaire Danger Mouse. - Stephanie Benson

The Raconteurs

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 19:09:53 -0800

Although they deny that this is a side-project, the Raconteurs are a gang of musicians who are also involved in other bands, most notably Jack White -- the male half of the White Stripes. One afternoon Jack stopped by singer and production wizard Brendan Benson's place (for some pancakes, he says) and instead found himself supplying lyrics to a song that would become the Raconteurs' first single, "Steady As She Goes." Eventually invited to this musical poker party was the rhythm section to Cincinnati band the Greenhornes: drummer Patrick Keeler and bassist Jack Lawrence. These old friends share a love of all things vintage whether it be instruments, amplifiers, clothes or fuzzed out melodies from the '60s and '70s. The Raconteurs released their debut album, Broken Boy Soldiers, in 2006. - Michele K-Tel

Jet

Mon, 7 Dec 2009 10:13:49 -0800

JET are an Australian four-piece enamored with the purity and saving grace of good rock 'n' roll. With big riffs, big sideburns and a big push from a major label, the band took off in 2003. Their music is a simple celebration of posturing, sneering and more than a few handclaps. It's Marc Bolan revisiting Chuck Berry as interpreted by Keith Richards and then copped by Noel Gallagher. The band's crunchy guitar tone and finger-wagging garage stomp is nothing new (nor will it ever be), but that doesn't mean it isn't ridiculously fun to listen to. - Jon Pruett

Gossip

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 13:50:44 -0700

When they were barely out of high school, Beth Ditto, Nathan Howdeschell (AKA Brace Paine), and Kathy Mendonca high-tailed it out of Arkansas for the hipper pastures of Olympia, Washington, where they formed the kind of dirty, sullen garage-soul band Jack White prayed to baby Jesus for. The Gossip's edge in the garage revivalist game? Ditto, a chubby, sweaty, sexy dynamo with a penchant for stripping onstage and a voice like a shot of whiskey -- grainy, fiery, and strong as hell. Ditto's soulful pipes o'steel plus Paine's Southern-fried guitar plus Mendonca's hip-swinging drums added up to a sound that got people's attention: Kill Rock Stars, which released all the band's full-length albums and a fistful of EPs; the White Stripes, Sleater-Kinney and Le Tigre, each of which toured with the Gossip; and queer kids, for whom the band is an out-and-proud icon, willing to wrestle issues like sexism, homophobia, and body fascism. Before recording their third album, the Gossip relocated to Portland, Oregon, parted ways with Mendonca over stylistic differences, and replaced her with Hannah Blilie (of Shoplifting) whose friskier beat helped shape the band's more dance-oriented sound on 2006's Standing in the Way of Control. They continued down that alt-disco path with their first major label album, 2009's Music for Men. - Rachel Devitt

The Kills

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 12:39:05 -0800

The Kills' Alison "VV" Mosshart and Jamie "Hotel" Hince make danceable post-punk rock music aimed at the indie hipster crowd. The duo began creating its gritty music in 2000 while Mosshart lived in Florida and Hince lived in the U.K. Realizing it would probably be easier to work together in the same city, VV relocated to London, and they began writing music together. Inspired by the Velvet Undergound, Cabaret Voltaire and punk pioneers Suicide, the Kills take their cues from the '70s and '80s punk scene, but update it with experimental drum programming and a semi-gothic aesthetic. - Jamie Sanchez

Wolfmother

Tue, 8 Dec 2009 09:16:41 -0800

Sydney's Wolfmother will teleport you back to the pre-metal rock days of the late-'60s and early-'70s. Singer/guitarist Andrew Stockdale's magazine-friendly good looks may recall a young Noel Redding (the English afro'd bass player from the Jimi Hendrix Experience), but his raucous, riff-heavy guitar playing echoes amp-blasting tones from both Leigh Stephens (Blue Cheer) and Vanilla Fudge's Vince Martell. However impressive his six-string skills are, it's Stockdale's powerful and melodic wail that drives Wolfmother. The chemistry between Stockdale, drummer Myles Heskett and bassist/keyboardist Chris Ross was apparent on Wolfmother's 2006 self-titled debut. But it didn't last; international success, a Grammy (for Best Hard Rock Performance) and even a request from Led Zeppelin to appear as guests for their U.K. Music Hall of Fame induction led to tension and eventually the departure of Heskett and Ross, who cited "irreconcilable differences." Stockdale kept the name and recruited guitarist Aidan Nemeth, bassist/keyboardist Ian Peres and drummer Dave Atkins to go on as Wolfmother. The new quartet released Cosmic Egg in late 2009. - Eric Shea

The Fratellis

Tue, 3 Nov 2009 11:24:59 -0800

Thank goodness for the Fratellis. Just as the bright! new! shiny! light that seemed to emanate from Franz Ferdinand started to fade a bit, their fellow Glaswegians (that's people from Glasgow -- who knew?) raced across the Atlantic to save us from a future without brilliant Scottish indie rock. And brilliant they are, with their soused, saucy, and, dare we say, lovable country-punk garage rock.

Adopting that classic coy rocker ploy, the boys in the band have all taken the same last name, but Jon (vocals/guitar), Mince (drums/vocals), and Barry Fratelli (bass) are not, of course, brothers. In fact, one pervasive rumor is that they named themselves after the dirty, rotten bad guy family from The Goonies, but the band swears that Fratelli is merely Barry's original last name. Along with this charming lore, a self-titled EP and a handful of hot singles carried the Fratellis from their inception in 2005 to their burgeoning fame of 2007, when their full-length debut, Costello Music, wa came out. Oh, and an iPod commercial featuring their tune "Flathead" probably helped, too. - Rachel Devitt

Dan Auerbach

Tue, 1 Dec 2009 09:47:21 -0800

Heartless Bastards

Wed, 2 Dec 2009 11:06:59 -0800

Ohio is cool because the state produced this very band. A lot of Ohio's indie bands sound like bar rockers; the Afghan Whigs, the Black Keys and Buffalo Killers all fit this description. So do the Heartless Bastards. In the early '00s, the Bastards became the talk of Cincinnati with their crunchy, bluesy fusion of garage rock and power pop. People especially fell for singer, songwriter and guitarist Erika Wennerstrom. The shadowy qualities lurking behind her voice, her persona and her aesthetics are blunt and gritty, like an abandoned parking lot whose surface has crumbled into a gnarled constellation of weeds. With help from the Black Keys, the group secured a deal with Fat Possum Records. Their first two albums, Stairs and Elevators and All This Time, are more or less studio interpretations of the band's killer live show. In contrast, 2009's The Mountain is a gutsy stab at evolution. Made after Wennerstrom relocated to Austin, Tex., where she put together a new lineup, the album finds her adding touches of British folk and country rock to the band's hard rock sound. - Justin Farrar

The Raveonettes

Fri, 4 Dec 2009 13:19:33 -0800

Like the Kills, the White Stripes and Mates of State, Denmark's Raveonettes are a girl/guy duo that appeal to the pants 'n' hair set of the indie rock realm. With their twangy distortion, thick walls of reverb, and can't-be-bothered attitude oozing from some of the most perfect vocal harmonies ever recorded, the Raveonettes could very well be mistaken for the bastard children of the Jesus And Mary Chain. (Just listen to the piping hot single "The Great Love Sound" off Chain Gang of Love, and try not to think of the brothers Reid.) In a perfect world, the Raveonettes would share a bill with Black Rebel Motorcycle Club (or B.R.M.C., an acronym that many have joked stands for Band Rehashes Mary Chain), and a reunited William and Jim Reid would headline... - Eric Shea

Hot Hot Heat

Tue, 8 Dec 2009 09:16:45 -0800

Hot Hot Heat formed in 1999 around keyboardist/vocalist Steve Bays, starting out as a synth punk outfit in Victoria, British Columbia. Drummer Paul Hawley and bassist Dustin Hawthorne formed the group's backbone through this period (the fruits of which can be heard on Scenes One Through Thirteen), but things changed for Hot Hot Heat when guitarist Dante DeCaro joined in early 2001, at which point they dropped the synths and moved towards a more stripped down rock 'n' roll -- if persistently pop -- sound. "We've basically brought together four categories of influences: classic Beatles and Stones; punk-rock; the whole singer/songwriter era, and anything contemporary worth listening to," explains Bays. This change of direction was followed by the release of debut EP Knock Knock Knock on Sub Pop in 2002 and, later the same year, LP Make Up The Breakdown, produced by Jack Endino (the knob-twiddler on Nirvana's Bleach). Shortly after the album's release, the band signed with Warner Music. In 2004, having completed the recording of their second album proper, Elevator, DeCaro left Hot Hot Heat to be replaced by Luke Paquina, formerly of San Francisco's the Stradlers. The band went on to release Happiness LTD. in 2007. - Jamie Dolling

Eagles Of Death Metal

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 13:06:27 -0800

A sense of humor comes packaged with every Eagles of Death Metal recording. They like their schoolboy wit in sleazy puns and not-so-subtle innuendos. They poke fun at scuzzy rock 'n' roll while totally embracing it and flaunting the multiple talents of main members Jesse "The Devil" Hughes and Josh "Baby Duck" Homme. The Palm Desert band claims its mission is to play music that's a cross between death metal and the classic rock of the Eagles. Of course, that's where their cheeky name comes in, but it's actually a fairly accurate description. They have an affection for indulgent '70s rock and metal with tight electric guitars, heavy reverb, dance-worthy percussion and goofy interchanges between macho-man bellows and falsetto breakdowns. The band first appeared on 1998's The Desert Sessions Volumes 3 and 4, but with Homme busy fronting Queens of the Stone Age, the release of its debut, Peace, Love, Death, Metal, didn't drop until 2004. Next, came Death By Sexy in 2006, which features several guests, including Mark Lanegan and Jack Black, followed by the equally fun, but more subdued, 2008 album Heart On. - Stephanie Benson

The Hives

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 10:09:47 -0800

Not since the Ramones rocketed out of Queens, N.Y., has a band set a land-speed record for blistering, truncated blasts of rock rage, comic irony and pure bombast. The remarkable thing is that the Hives aren't from the dark heart of America, but from the small industrial town of Fagersta, Sweden, where they were raised on a diet of Detroit's infamous rock insurrectionists -- MC5, the Stooges and snotty 1960s garage minimalists like the Pretty Things -- with a heavy dose of '80s New Wave archness. That heady combination proved to be as irresistible as it is seditious, from the band's insistence on wearing only black and white to their early onstage fistfights, which would disintegrate into bouts of bristling chaos and musical mayhem. Formed in 1993 by five high school pals, the Hives didn't have any great vision to become one of the leading lights in garage rock revival, but there they stood at the brink of a burgeoning zeitgeist in their sharp suits, poised to revolutionize the new millennial listening habits along with their like-minded brethren, the White Stripes and the Strokes. What sets them apart is their zany disinformation campaign, from efforts to conceal the fact that band members Howlin' Pelle Almqvist and Nicholaus Arson are brothers to claiming that their career has been masterminded by Randy Fitzsimmons, whom no one has ever laid eyes on (but many have claimed to). Their first full-length CD, Barely Legal, was released in 1997, and was followed by a U.S. tour that garnered them praise from the likes of rabid fans Courtney Love and Ian Astbury and, more important, proved that rock can be dangerous again. They followed that up with A.K.A I-D-I-O-T, a small, prickly jewel of an EP that whetted the ever-growing number of fans' appetite for 1999's Vendi Vidi Vicious, a crowning achievement in aggressive minimalism that ushered the band out of their teens and firmly fixed them in the public eye. The oddly dubbed Tyrannosaurs Hives was released in 2004. A slightly more polished affair than their earlier efforts, the album nonetheless shows these Scandinavian firebrands to be as artistically unruly and only a little less caustic than before. - Jaan Uhelszki

The Vines

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 13:05:34 -0800

The Vines started up shortly after Craig Nicholls and Patrick Matthews met at the McDonald's they worked at in Sydney, Australia, in 1991. The Anglophiliacs were enamored with bands like Suede and the Verve, and they also shared a love for Nirvana. By 1994, they were ready to play their first gig, during which they sloppily ran through Nirvana's "Been a Son" and tracks by You Am I, an alternative band that was big in Australia at the time. By 2000, the Vines had evolved into a distinct group, with vocalist Nicholls' unpredictability getting more press with each performance. By 2001, the band was in Los Angeles, recording its first album, Highly Evolved. When the LP was released, the British press went mad for its mixture of baroque pop and spastic, grungy-garage rock. Meanwhile, Nicholls seemed to be throwing himself and his guitar into anything he could on stage. "Get Free" began to break in America, and the band started selling out gigs and ransacking late night TV shows. Their live U.S. debut took place at the Coachella festival in 2002. When their follow-up, Winning Days, was released in 2004, it was one of the most eagerly anticipated releases of the year. - Jon Pruett

Noisettes

Fri, 4 Dec 2009 13:19:40 -0800

Led by the piercing, soulful vocals of singer and bassist Shingai Shoniwa, Noisettes are a trio of London garage-rock revivalists who channel Ike and Tina one moment and the MC5 the next. Shoniwa, guitarist Dan Smith and drummer Jamie Morrison began playing together in 2003 and recorded their debut EP, Three Moods of the Noisettes, soon after, releasing it on London's Side Salad Records in 2005. The strength of that EP aided them in landing a deal with Universal, who helped issue the band's "Scratch Your Name" single. They toured hard for the next two years, opening for the likes of TV on the Radio and Muse and gaining a large international fan base. In the spring of 2007, the group released its first LP, What's the Time Mr. Wolf?, to wide acclaim. - Nate Cavalieri

Black Lips

Wed, 7 Oct 2009 12:13:58 -0700

If surly, soused, and thoroughly southern garage punk is your game, then Atlanta's Black Lips are your kind of fellas. Cole Alexander (lead vocals, guitar, harmonica), Ben Eberbaugh (lead guitar), Jared Swilley (bass) and Joe Bradley (drums) came together as teenagers in 2000. They got a little attention for a couple of singles -- and even more for their rowdy, debauched live shows, which have included vomiting, urinating in each other's mouths and spitting pee at the audience, and setting their pubic hair on fire. Needless to say, they've been banned from a number of Georgia venues. They signed to Bomp! Records, recorded their first album in 2002 and prepared to take off on a tour of the East Coast and Midwest that would extend their bad reputation beyond the Bible Belt. Tragically, just before the album was released and the tour began, Eberbaugh was killed when a driver going the wrong way crashed into his car at a toll booth. The band continued as a three-piece, eventually hiring first Jack Hines and later Ian Brown as their fourth member. - Rachel Devitt

The Duke Spirit

Fri, 25 Sep 2009 10:14:05 -0700

Brazen and brassy with a feminine core, the Duke Spirit hail from Cheltenham, England, where they were raised on early noise rock, grunge, blues and dream pop. Liela Moss fronts the quintet with all the sass of a Karen O, PJ Harvey or Grace Slick and the lofty pipes and harmonica vibrato to match. Embracing her commanding presence is an equally extravagant mix of sludgy guitars, heavy bass and quirky touches of autoharp, glockenspiel and tambourine. The group formed after Moss and guitarist/vocalist Luke Ford met in art college. Soon after, they enlisted fellow artist Toby Butler, flatmate Dan Higgins and friend Olly Betts to round out the band. Its debut album, Cuts Across The Land, was released in the U.K. in May 2005 and in the U.S. the following year. The group then joined Desert Sessions maestro Chris Goss in Joshua Tree to record a track with UNKLE (featured on War Stories) and subsequently its own sophomore album, 2008's Neptune. - Stephanie Benson

Dwarves

Mon, 30 Nov 2009 10:00:49 -0800

The Dwarves, who formed in 1983 and now approach the throne of punk legend, aren't only praised for their brutal Garage Punk and speedy playing style. The band's various shenanigans -- faking their own guitarist's death, consistently writing songs with lewd and lurid lyrics, an obsession with bizarre leather garb -- have also drawn attention. And anyone who's ever seen them live can attest to the fact that even on a tame night, they're still pretty over the top (although rumors of bizarre, on-stage mutilation ceremonies are somewhat overblown). Even if they're only doing it for attention, at least they're never boring.

The Libertines

Wed, 26 Aug 2009 10:39:56 -0700

The Libertines' music celebrates the Class of '77 (the Clash's Mick Jones produced their 2002 debut) with abandon, while also tossing in nods to the romantic melodicism of everyone from the Smiths to the Strokes. On their best moments, however, they play something wholly their own: relentlessly poppy punk rock, seething with wit and spittle. The group succeeds by avoiding polish, instead keeping the guitars ragged and rough, delivering a good time for those who prefer their knees up and jackets leathered. - Jon Pruett

Electric Six

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:50:54 -0800

Electric Six are six (duh) people from near Detroit . But those people have changed constantly since the sextet's late '90s days as the Wildbunch; flamboyantly manly singer and side-splittingly showy songwriter Dick Valentine has been the sole constant. Among nonconstants, sillier monikers have included the Rock and Roll Indian, Dr. Diet Mountain Dew, Smorgasbord!, M. and Percussion World (appropriately, a drummer). The band's music is just as funny, but though they've averaged about one album a year since 2003, only their debut Fire -- which includes the top-five Brit hits "Danger! High Voltage" and " Gay Bar ," both inconclusively rumored to contain backing vocals by Jack White -- made much of a mass-cultural dent. It's a shame, because the albums since -- from 2005's Senor Smoke, featuring a wacky remake of Queen's "Radio Ga Ga," to 2008's wrongly slept-on Flashy -- have been consistent in their straight-faced but smirking re-imagining of mirror-balled early '80s AOR. No band has ever so expertly fused Falco with Foreigner. That the Six's recent releases have appeared on the sleaze-embracing industrial label Metropolis is somewhat hilarious in its own right. - Chuck Eddy

The Features

Thu, 23 Jul 2009 13:16:43 -0700

The Features formed in the small town of Sparta, Tennessee in 1996; by the following year, they had released their debut EP. The eponymous effort showcased the band's love for new wave and quirky pop. The departure of the band's second guitarist meant that retro keyboards like the Moog and the Hammond B-3 took on a greater role in filling out the band's sound -- and eventually went on to define it. A handful of U.K. releases followed before Fierce Panda released The Beginning in 2003. With a slightly amended track listing, The Beginning was released in the States by Universal in 2004. - Linda Ryan

Jack White

Fri, 11 Sep 2009 10:25:41 -0700

The Von Bondies

Sat, 29 Aug 2009 10:21:32 -0700

Detroit quartet the Von Bondies first laid out the plan for their take on raved-up garage rock in 2000. After churning out a few spittle-soaked singles, the band was featured on The Sympathetic Sounds of Detroit, a compilation album by the then-nascent Jack White of the White Stripes. The comp saw the Von Bondies sitting alongside notable hellfire-burning outfits like the Detroit Cobras, the Dirtbombs, the Soledad Brothers and the White Stripes. It wasn't long before their own debut arrived in 2001. Lack Of Communication was filled with their distinctive, dirty howl and particularly showed off the strengths of Marcie Bolen and Carrie Smith, whose turns at the mic provided some of the album's most riveting moments. It's singer Jason Stollsteimer who directs most of the action, though. His vocal theatrics are all blues bluster given to punk rock fits of unexpected energy. With the raw, primitive sounds of garage rock becoming oddly popular in 2003, it was no surprise to see the Von Bondies courted by a major label. Their official second album, Pawn Shoppe Heart, was released in 2004. - Jon Pruett

Mudhoney

Fri, 6 Nov 2009 12:47:19 -0800

Innovators of Grunge, Mudhoney's influence was felt more behind the scenes than on the frontlines, helping to patent the sound of angst-ridden, strained vocals and muddy, buzzing guitars. Unlike the stable of other Seattle area bands, Mark Arm and co. recall early, buzzing L.A. Punk and messy '60s Garage Rock. - Mark Murrmann

The Cramps

Mon, 2 Nov 2009 10:53:10 -0800

From the swamps of B-movie back lots and the rays of cathode television tubes, the Cramps are, after over twenty years, still creeping out with their absolutely unique, horror-fried rock 'n' roll. Their music is blood and sweat. With a strong, basic rock backbeat and a loud, distorted, driving guitar pushing a repetitive rush of raucous rawk, the Cramps could take over any town. Like a family of zombies, there's no stopping them from crawling and slithering into and under your skin -- theyll shake your bones and make your soul dance like a wildcat on fire. Heated passion and comic book evil give rise to howls, hoots, and chanted vocals. - Mark Murrmann

Jay Reatard

Fri, 4 Dec 2009 13:20:34 -0800

The Oblivions were the mid-'90s fathers of Memphis' garage rock, but Jay Reatard (born Jay Lindsey), a songwriter who shaped his highly melodic take on the genre in their likeness, is the city's next-generation garage rock torchbearer. How is his music different? It's fun. Like bounce-off-the-walls fun. Shotgun-beers-and-puke-in-the-bushes fun. Sweaty-meat-smelling-basement-rock-and-roll-show fun. He started recording on his own at the age of 15, sending a tape-recorded demo off to the Oblivions-related label, Goner, who eventually signed him. He released a string of singles with Goner -- some as a one-man band called the Reatards, some backed by Memphis musicians -- and began to tour widely in 1998, the same year the Reatards issued their proper debut, Teenage Hate. Over the next few years Lindsey led and contributed to a handful of projects in addition to the Reatards -- the Lost Sounds and the Angry Angels, among others -- and started to work on solo material. His first solo effort, Blood Visions, appeared on the In The Red label in 2006. Two years later, he signed with indie heavyweight Matador, which issued a series of vinyl singles (which were packaged together and sold as compilation discs). Throughout the course of his career, he's written and toured prolifically. - Nate Cavalieri

The Horrors

Sat, 26 Sep 2009 10:10:55 -0700

British ultra-hipsters not to be confused with the eponymous defunct Iowan garage-rock trio, the Horrors play a dark (as in goth-ish) garage punk, drop a zillion cool-band references in their music and song titles, and dress their postmodern parts expertly. The band's 2007 debut, Strange House, is an amalgamation of Joy Division, the Birthday Party, and ? and the Mysterians. They also cover a Suicide song. Needless to say, that covers a lot of underground -- er, ground -- and many acts would become lost in the haze of "style over substance." The Horrors get away with their almost too-perfect pedigree by delivering strong material that belies the massive amounts of hype behind them. Besides the album, the band has released a five-song EP, filmed a documentary of its U.S. tour and been banned by MTV UK thanks to the video for "Sheena Is a Parasite," directed by provocative video director Chris Cunningham. - Mike McGuirk

The Subways

Wed, 26 Aug 2009 10:39:57 -0700

The Subways are the best thing to come out of the satellite town of Welwyn Garden City since the 05:01 to London Kings Cross (arr. 05:45). Their big break came with winning the 2004 Glastonbury Festival unsigned performers competition and the chance to play to 10,000 impressionable rock fans. Snapped up by Infectious Records soon afterwards, the threesome of Charlotte Cooper (bass) and brothers Billy Lunn (vocals, guitar -- who took his artist grandfather's name for the stage) and Josh Morgan (drums) took to the road for year before winding up in a Liverpool studio with erstwhile Lightning Seed and indie production supremo Ian Broudie. Young For Eternity is what emerged, with Lunn explaining on the band's website: "We really wanted to create an emotional journey with this record, which is why each song is very different. I think people's opinion of us will change with every new song they hear and eventually they won't be able to think of us as being any particular style." That said, the band's love of Oasis, the Jam, Nirvana and the Sex Pistols is there for all to see, albeit with an occasional adherence to sweeping melody that presumably brought the compilers of The O.C. soundtrack to their door, providing the suburban trio with their big chance to crack the States. - Jamie Dolling

Black Mountain

Wed, 2 Dec 2009 11:06:59 -0800

This new generation of Canadian commune kids hang out with a group of like-minded artists and musicians in Vancouver called the Black Mountain Army. Just like their non-peacenik named collective, these youthful hippies aren't about gentle acoustic strumming like the commune denizens of yore, but have their guitars plugged in and turned way up. Black Mountain blend heavy rock roots with harmonic indie pop backed by a funk thump that fuses together to create an original brand of psychedelic stoner rock. - Michele K-Tel

Foxboro Hot Tubs

Wed, 25 Mar 2009 21:02:40 -0700

This Green Day side project started in late 2007, and by the time Foxboro Hot Tubs' debut album was released in mid-April 2008, the "group" had taken on a life of its own. In early 2008, the song "Mother Mary" had been released to alternative radio outlets, charting as high as No. 16 on Billboard's Modern Rock chart. So when Stop Drop and Roll finally was released, Green Day's MySpace fans already knew what to expect. The songs on SDandR bear the unmistakable mark of Billie Joe Armstrong's vocals, but the music is steeped in '60s garage rock. In fact, if Green Day had cut their teeth in a garage instead of at Gilman Street, they might have sounded like Foxboro Hot Tubs from the start. Raw sounds abound, with simple chord progressions, hand claps, lots of background harmonies and the occasional organ snaking its way through sonic flashbacks. Yes, Foxboro Hot Tubs come ready to please your inner go-go dancer. Because of the on-again, off-again nature of this project (their songs were put up on MySpace and taken down a number of times), it's unclear how seriously Green Day take this "side project" or if there will be more music in the future. - Linda Ryan

The Detroit Cobras

Sun, 16 Aug 2009 09:06:35 -0700

Without looking at the date of any of the songs in the Detroit Cobras' repertoire, it's entirely possible to mistake them for mid-1960s Motown Girl Group would-be hits -- which many are. The Detroit Cobras specialize in covering lost, Soul and R&B non-hits of the '50s and '60s. Swaggering with an element of forbidden charm, they entice with sultry vocals before striking with loud, dangerous guitars. - Mark Murrmann

Caesars

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 11:56:12 -0700

Swedish garage-rockers with a studio. Vocals through a fuzzbox and an organ riff ripped straight from "96 Tears.". Reverb guitar and hip-shaking drums that will free you from your residency in Squaresville.

Man or Astro-Man?

Mon, 30 Nov 2009 10:00:49 -0800

Not just your average everyday Surf revival outfit, Man or Astro-Man? creates some of the most compelling, well-crafted, and unique instrumental (well, for the most part) music around. While the Mermen expand on the Surf formula by incorporating a spaced-out, Pink Floyd-ian psychedelia, Man or Astro-Man? delves into experimental, edgy Post-Punk a la Sonic Youth. Strange and alien voices creep eerily into the musical mix; computer generated haunted spaceship sounds ooze into the sonic crevices. The guitars -- the foundation upon which all Surf is built -- are tweaked in ways that are unspeakable for purists. It's as if an amped-out Blixa Bargeld is sitting in with the band. Their live shows are multimedia extravaganzas: computer wizardry, video feeds, elaborate costumes, props, and the startling display of each member's impressive virtuosity and wild theatricality. - Will Lerner

Blues Explosion

Fri, 4 Dec 2009 13:21:22 -0800

Not your typical blues outfit -- in fact, not a blues outfit at all -- the Blues Explosion, aka Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, concoct a postmodern sound that's heavily reliant on tricky backbeats and N.Y.C. references. The Explosion foster a party atmosphere ("Lemme hear ya say yeah!!"), and you get the feeling that they're hell-bent on convincing you that the calendar reads 1972 forever: Funk-embellished interludes, mental portraits of big afros and bigger cars, and an overall mood of decadence. Spencer is credited (or blamed) for fathering indie pimp rock, and his trio does nothing to dispel the notion of the singer/guitarist's self-preoccupation ("You listenin' to the Bloooooooz Explosion, baby!"). Those in search of humble singer-songwriters should look elsewhere; party-hipster-funk lovers need apply. - Charles Hodgkins

Living Things

Fri, 12 Jun 2009 09:56:33 -0700

Equal parts AC/DC and the Stooges, St. Louis-based Living Things distinguish themselves from the legions of like-minded modern garage/hard rock bands by injecting a strong political streak into a large percentage of their songs. Addressing the plight of troops in Iraq, the I.R.S. and the overmedication of the American populace, Living Things have won themselves some critical acclaim for not singing about their hair all the time, even though they sport some pretty impressive 'dos and enjoy a poster-boy image similar to the Strokes. The band formed in 2001 around 3 brothers: Lillian, Eve and Bosh Berlin, with childhood friend Corey Becker playing the part of Fred "Sonic" Smith. They have been on a major label virtually from the beginning; DreamWorks put out their 2003 EP debut, Turn in Your Friends and Neighbors, and Polydor, Universal and Jive the rest of their 5 total releases. The most recent, Habeas Corpus, surfaced in 2009. - Mike McGuirk

Lyres

Wed, 22 Apr 2009 22:01:16 -0700

The Lyres are born from the ashes of the legendary DMZ. Jeff "Monoman" Connolly carries on his maniacal style, playing raging authentic '60s Garage rock 'n' roll. One of the Lyres charms is their animalization of '60s rock songs -- souped up and blasted out as rabid hyenas.

Holly Golightly

Mon, 30 Nov 2009 10:01:02 -0800

Holly Golightly sings swaggering, slurring, blues-based ballads. Each song radiates a warmth centered around Golightly's raspy, sultry voice, amplified by her larger-than-life guitar. Holly started her musical career as a co-founder member of all girl garage band Thee Headcoatees, who were Thee Headcoats splinter group in 1991. Holly's first solo album, The Good Things, appeared in 1995. - Mark Murrmann

The Sights

Wed, 4 Nov 2009 12:13:49 -0800

In the summer of 1998 high school friends Eddie Baranek (vocals/guitar), Mike Trombley (drums), and Mark Leahey (bass/vocals) formed The Sights. A year later the band issued Are You Green? (recorded at Jim Diamonds Ghetto Recorders). Their sophomore album, Got What We Want was released in 2002 to some critical acclaim. The Sights hit the road for a year of touring both countries, including a 10-week stint sleeping inside the groupÃ¢ÂÂs 1991 Ford Econoline van and stealing bagels for sustenance. In the spring of 2004, The Sights - now including relative newbie organist Bobby Emmett and drummer Keith Fox - caught the ear of ex-Smashing Pumpkins guitarist James Iha, who signed them to his own Scratchie Records. The band released their self-titled third LP, The Sights in April of 2005. - Mark Murrmann

Liam Lynch

Sun, 7 Jun 2009 07:59:54 -0700

Louis XIV

Thu, 9 Jul 2009 12:14:35 -0700

After doing time in the twang-rock band Convoy, Jason Hill, Brian Karscig and Mark Maigaard felt it was time for a change. The San Diego-based trio enlisted bassist Jimmy Armbrust and the foursome started writing post-punk gems which they glossed up with dazzling shards of glam rock. The uber-catchy "Finding Out True Love Is Blind" struck a nerve with San Diego fans who requested the somewhat leering, iconoclastic song on their local modern rock station. In 2004, Louis XIV's deafening buzz climaxed at a SXSW showcase, where they turned in a spectacularly raucous show. Soon afterwards they were tapped to tour with the red-hot Killers as well as the Von Bondies. In between those go-rounds, the royal ones found some time to record 2005's Best Little Secrets Are Kept. - Linda Ryan

The King Khan & BBQ Show

Tue, 18 Aug 2009 15:09:09 -0700

King Khan, the commandant and wildly prolific punk-rock auteur behind this duo, is, well, just plain wild. The Montreal-born Berliner borrows as much from 1960s girl groups as he does grainy garage rock of the same era. He skirts the frontiers of Chuck Berry rock 'n' roll and Sam Cooke soul while scuffing his sound with a punk ethos that makes for riotous live shows. Speaking of skirts, he is known to perform in drag. He and drummer BBQ, aka Mark Sultan, came of age in the Montreal punk band the Spacesh*ts, which released two records in the late '90s on taste-making label Sympathy for the Record Industry. When Khan moved to Europe, the Atlantic Ocean could not keep their musical partnership at bay. Theirs is a kinship that inspires spasms of primal energy akin to exploding balls of fire. If this dynamic duo were part of a carnival, it would certainly be in the freak show. It's all in the service of a good time. - Nate Baker

Thee Oh Sees

Thu, 5 Nov 2009 16:49:28 -0800

The Minus 5

Fri, 22 May 2009 17:08:17 -0700

This Seattle-based pop music collective was started in 1993 as a side project by Scott McCaughey of Young Fresh Fellows fame. The idea was to have a different lineup with each release. This revolving door has seen the likes of Peter Buck (R.E.M) and members of the Posies, the Walkabouts and NRBQ join in the fun. As in the YFF, McCaughey plays Jangle Pop, but with lyrics that are more bleak than whimsical. - Mike Cloward

The Redwalls

Sat, 6 Jun 2009 08:29:27 -0700

The Redwalls are a four-piece straight out of high school in Deerfield, Illinois, who sound like they wish the last 30 years had never happened. Brothers Logan and Justin Baren (on vocals and bass, respectively), guitarist Andrew Langer, and drummer Ben Greeno are clearly besotted with R&B-suffused rock 'n' roll as played by the Stones, the Faces and the Beatles (especially the Beatles), but -- unlike contemporaries such as the Libertines -- are firmly of the opinion that punk is, indeed, dead. As frontman Logan Baren explains on the band's web site: "We never fit in, but rock 'n' roll's not a dated thing. There are other bands out there right now doing it as well, like Coldplay, the Strokes or Brian Jonestown Massacre." Whatever your take on their revivalist stance, rest assured that Redwalls will follow their rock 'n' roll path to its conclusion, clad in the finest fashions pounds, shillings and pence can buy. - Jamie Dolling

1990's

Fri, 25 Sep 2009 10:14:22 -0700

The 1990s are a Glasgow trio fronted by singer and guitarist Jackie McKeown, who leads the group through gritty, '60s-influenced rock and power pop. McKeown formed the project with bassist Jamie McMorrow after the demise of their former band, Yummy Fur, and eventually filled the drum seat with Michael McGaughrin. Their first single, "You Made Me Like It" was released in May of 2006 and it was followed a year later by the debut full-length LP, Cookies. The group dropped their sophomore album, Kicks in 2009. - Nate Cavalieri

The Greenhornes

Sat, 4 Jul 2009 12:39:42 -0700

Even though they weren't technically from the Motor City, Cincinnati's Greenhornes were one of the most impressive bands of the late '90s garage revival often associated with Detroit. Led by singer guitarist Craig Fox, the band formed in 1996, though the line up varied for some years, the permanent rhythm included bassist Jack Lawrence and drummer Patrick Keelerat and side players included guitarist Brian Olive, organist Jared McKinney, and guitarist and vocalist Eric Stein. Starting with 1999's Gun For You, the band produced a number of indie releases and toured widely. By 2003, membership had diminished to a power trio of Fox, Lawrence, and Keeler, who issued East Grand Blues on V2 Records, which was produced by Brendan Benson in 2005. Keeler and Lawrence have done some impressive moonlighting with members of the White Stripes and Loretta Lynn. - Nate Cavalieri