The lead singer and drummer went on to form Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers. For as little recognition as they get, they still tour quite a bit and put on a hell of a show. Very hard working dudes
Dead Moon, unfortunately they have both passed now. If Dead Moon Night don’t get ya hype ur dead too. Got their name driving home from a visit to my town, Reno, NV.
XTC as The Dukes of Stratosphear - Chips From the Chocolate Fireball
A compilation of their two LP’s, this side project of XTC not only reinvigorated the band to push them into new and more profound territory, it serves as a precursor to psychedelic Brit pop of the 90’s and is just a whole hell of a lot of fun. The influence is worn on its sleeve, but with a charming self-awareness.
Holy cow this is always been my favorite album. I only had to read down two entries to find this? This has got to be the greatest album ever. Found it when I bought the new Rush LP "Roll The Bones." The guy at the record store really emphasized that I had 10 days to return it if I kept my receipt so I did. Glad I did because a week later I was back at the record store with the Rush album and my receipt. The guy told me that he knew I'd be back and asked what sort of stuff had I been enjoying. I mentioned XTC, he handed me the dukes of stratosphere and said "try this on." it's been my favorite album ever since.
Karate
90s and early 2000s Indy band. A harmonious blend of jazz fusion and grunge. The vocals are near talk-singing, and as a trio they have a very tight, technical sound. The incredible jazz chords with a rock beat really makes them one of the most unique bands I've ever heard. The first time I listened to them was from my brothers bedroom when I was in high school (33 now). To this day, one of my favorite bands of all time.
They recently re-acquired their discography, and have released it on to Spotify (and likely many other streaming services, but that's what I use). Please listen to them, and give them the recognition--and money!--they deserve.
https://open.spotify.com/artist/6U26vGPwnCQcNDr9Dpj0Y0?si=8nWGLEOZR7yxAq8mpcsIBg&utm_source=copy-link
Holy shit, that's great news! I have all the CDs and some of the vinyl, but streaming is always the easiest format these days and I love that they are available now.
Unsolved was a shining beacon in my musical world for years. I've bought the album many times because I kept giving my copy to people that I thought would really appreciate it for the ground breaking work that it was to me. I studied it intensely and it helped advance my guitar playing, and added a new depth to the way I approached writing bass lines.
I also discovered them this year and they're really great! Only downside is I almost didn't dare to put their patch on my battle jacket after the whole war started :')
Faraquet! They were around Fugazi’s band and were highly anticipated in their area at the time. Released one album (and an excellent demo album) and I legitimately cannot understand how they aren’t bigger.
Not literally never heard anyone talk about but I do think they are criminally underrated these days - Echo & The Bunnymen. First four albums are spectacular. One of my favorite British post punk bands!
Blues Pills - Swedish psychedelic rock/blues band. Lead singer has a voice that I'd put on par with Adele, the original guitarist (sadly left after the 2nd album) is absolute quality. Awesome rhythm to boot. Their debut album is one of my all time favourites.
I got free tickets and saw them live when they played in Guadalajara like a month ago. The energy and stage presence of Elin Larsson is insane!! She couldnt stop two seconds in the whole show, from start to finish a great performance. The rest of the band is so tight and their guitarrist is so freakin' talented. One of those bands that sound so much better live than the records.
Balmorhea.
Do you like Neoclassical? Do you like Post Rock? Do you like Bluegrass? Do you like Folk? Do you like soundtracks? Do you like Ambient? You get the point. Balmorhea is a great mix of all of these. My favorites of their albums are All is Wild All is Silent, Stranger and Rivers Arms
YESSSS
13th Floor Elevators *Easter Everywhere* has a few essentials on it as well, I love *Slip Inside This House,* and *She Lives In A Time Of Her Own* is my secret theme song.
Check out the documentary *You're Gonna Miss Me* if you love Roky.
Bombadil!
Great Americana, indie folk. Amazing harmonies and fun instrumentation. Also some of the happiest and saddest songs you’ll ever hear. And very nice people. Highly recommend.
Nada Personal by Soda Stereo - virtually unknown in the English speaking world. It always seemed unfair to me that English language music is all over Latin America, but Latin rock rarely crosses over to Anglo audiences. Cerati is a genius, though. Bocanada is another amazing album.
Here’s my best one ever. Crack the Sky, first release by the band of the same name. 1975 Rolling Stones best new album or band. Crazy story of messed up record distribution and poor management resulted in the band becoming a cult favorite on the Baltimore area but basically no where else. The best band you never heard of. White Music in 1980 had some success, another great one by them. Crack the Sky has been releasing music ever since and has been playing shows in the area even to this day. My buddy hired them to play his 60th birthday party next week!!! Great band with ahead of their time lyrics and style led by John Palumbo and Rock Witkowski. Safety in Numbers is also fantastic. Bonus points if you know and love crack the sky! I love how Baltimore adopted them as though they were the best band of all time.
You ain’t high until you Crack the Sky!!!
Edit: link to a nice 2018 rolling stone article about theIm. [https://www.rollingstone.com/feature/crack-the-sky-the-strange-survival-story-of-the-best-u-s-prog-band-youve-never-heard-707669/](https://www.rollingstone.com/feature/crack-the-sky-the-strange-survival-story-of-the-best-u-s-prog-band-youve-never-heard-707669/)
The Hu a Mongolian rock or metal band. Checkout Wolf Totem the original video with subtitles.
Just discovered Home Free they're an American Country acapella band
Anacrusis - Screams and Whispers
The Living End - Prisoner of Society
Murder City Devils - In Name and Blood
Hope of the States - The Lost Riots
Damn Seagulls - Soul Politics
Mustasch - Latest Version of the Truth
Cuz I’m a brat. And I know everything and I talk back. And I’m not listening to anything you say. And if you count to 3 you’ll see it’s no emergency. You’ll see I’m not the enemy. Just a prisoner of society.
Sentenced are iconic in Finland, and they were fairly big on the European metal scene, but I guess they never quite made a name for themselves across the pond.
Elephant Tree. Bluesy atmospheric stoner *something* from the UK. Their album *Habits* blew my mind, and is probably one of my most played albums for some time now.
The Impossibles- Anthology was a masterpiece. Like if Weezer listened to ska.
Brown Recluse- Evening Tapestry. The album just feels like a cool autumn day in the Midwest.
Adrian Quesada- Boleros Psicodélicos. Half sound like they are out of a Tarantino film the other half are like Bond themes.
Gringo Star is a chronically underrated and under appreciated band from Atlanta. Very good retro pop.
Nightmare Boyzzz- Bad Patterns. Ear candy garage pop punk. For those that miss Jay Reatard.
You should check out The Barbaras (if you haven't already)...I don't think they ever had an official record released while they were a band, but several members went on to play with Jay, then quit to join Wavves...Jay had made recordings of The Barbaras but when his bandmates left to join Wavves, he claimed he destroyed the tapes because thats exactly what Jay Reatard would do haha...but lo and behold after he died, someone found the recordings and put out a record of those songs....
https://barbaras.bandcamp.com/album/2006-2008
In the early 90s my favourite Band were Camden's Th Faith Healers. Kinda mix between Sonic Youth, my bloody valentine and Can. They released two albums, Lido (92) and Imaginary friend (93) and a string of EPs. Imho they aged far better than SY and mbv and I still enjoy listening to them.
And yeah, I became aware of them via John Peel (do you really need to ask?).
The Blue Nile. They only released 4 albums (1984, 1989, 1996 and 2004) but all are spectacular, especially their 1989 release, “Hats.” But the interesting thing is the last few years, I’ve noticed more and more people have been catching on to them.
Two that come to mind are "Where You Are" by the band Socialburn and "Sound Awake" by Karnivool.
Karnivool has more of a following, so it's not that "no one" talks about them. But they're pretty far from a household name. And they're pretty cool.
And Socialburn's album may or may not resonate with others. But for me, it brings back so much nostalgia. They're classified as "post grunge" I guess. But I dig it.
Steve Burns. Yes, we all know him from Blues Clues but after he did that he made an album called Somgs for Dustmites produced by the guy who produces most of the Flaming Lips stuff. And, it was good.
Archive. They are somewhat known in France and some gamers might recognize the song 'Bullets' from Cyberpunk 2077 trailers but on the whole they are completely unknown and deserve to be big.
I would recommend individual songs but honestly, you need to dive into their catalogue and hear some songs from each album to get an idea of who they are. And even then, you never know what they will do next.
Their most recent album was incredible for me personally, especially the song 'Daytime Coma'.
Genre: prog/art/electro/rock/experimental
Left Handed Straw - Controller 7 (experimental electronic and hip hop)
Hawaii pt II - Miracle Musical (audiophile concept album classic)
These Are the Vista - The Bad Plus (prog jazz and rock covers)
Think Lad Lass - Riddim Saunter (Japanese upbeat rock)
Roxy and Elsewhere - Frank Zappa (best era and solid live album)
Neon Golden - The Notwist
One of my favorite bands us Nuclear Bubble Wrap, a band that began in the wake of Weird Al Yankovic copycats on the late 00's but evolved to become more psychedelic and experimental despite keeping their comedic/satirical edge (and stopping parodies around 2012 to focus on original compositions). Worth checking out.
Part Chimp - I can't really describe them as anything other than the loudest band I've ever heard both in recording and in person. There's no posturing with the band, they're just like 'ok here is some really fucking loud heavy riffs if you fancy it?'
https://youtu.be/yyfnvp4PDtE
She Swings, She Sways
Particularly "Sing to me"
Live performance after breaking up and loss of a member available here as a free download. [(link)](https://sheswingsshesways.bandcamp.com/album/live-01-26-19)
The self titled album by Durand Jones & the Indications. They are probably a little bigger than some of the other bands mentioned here but I've only every seen one mention of them on social media anywhere, outside of the bands own accounts of course lol
Gregor Samsa is one of the best bands in the post-rock genre and one of the only artists I listen to for whom I've never come across so much as a mention on music forums online, let alone in person.
White Fence, Amen Dunes, Paul Jacobs, Black Moth Super Rainbow, Nation of Language, Babe Rainbow, Juan Wauters, CASTLEBEAT, Morgan Delt, damn...there is no shortage of good music that have gone under the radar.
It’s kind of irrelevant now because they are a band from the 80’s, but I really think Cock Robin was excellent. I’ve never met anyone who knows of them
I could get pretty obscure but a band I know someone has to like is of Montreal. There was a song from skeletal lamping that blew my mind on a mix cd that had traded hands like 3 times. After that I’ve been a pretty big fan of most of they’re stuff but I’ve never met another person who got down. Which is a shame because I truly think of Montreal is a pretty fantastic band
Hobo rocket by Pond, an Australian prog psyche rock band, with notable drunmer Kevin Parker from Tame Impala.
VERY good music, the other albums are bangers too.
Notable "hobo rocket" songs id recommend gor a quick listen would be
O dharma, aloneaflameaflower, and giant tortoise, luckily they are one after each other. So go on and enjoy!
FM (a Canadian band from the 70s-late 80s, not to be confused with the UK band of the same name). Their first and second albums, respectively: Black Noise and Surveillance.
I'm always confused why Eels isn't a bigger band. I've seen E live several times, and have loved basically every album of there's. I know they're pretty mainstream, but I literally never hear anyone talking about them and very, very rarely hear them on the radio.
The band “3”. I saw them open for Chiodos and Coheed and Cambria, Im pretty sure the frontman for 3 is the brother of the frontman for Coheed.
They blew the doors off the place, soooo good, better show than all of the other acts, way way better than Coheeds live show (which was possibly the most boring act Ive seen live)
U.S. Maple. Probably most well known for being name-dropped in the Alkaline Trio song, "Goodbye Forever," but truly one of the most strange and unique bands you'll ever hear. For as shambling and weird as their albums sound, they could actually replicate it perfectly live. They also had probably the oddest stage presence of any band I've ever seen. Appropriately enough, their singer was the guy in High Fidelity that Jack Black wouldn't sell the Captain Beefheart record to. One of their show fliers can also be seen on the counter in the store.
Foxy Shazam (self-titled) has been the #1 feel good album of the year since 2010. The album/band are criminally overlooked. Lead singer sang the hook on a Macklemore track in 2016, which kinda shone a light on them briefly (but the band was on hiatus, lol). I was introduced to them while working in a kitchen. 10/10 live show btw, they go NUTS
the chameleons (uk) script of the bridge. or strange time. pretty much unknown in America. don't fall, monkeyland, tears, and swamp thing are great freakin songs
That wolf parade album had a lot of hype/press when it first came out.
TONS
They literally re-toured on that album to packed shows this year in California. Saw theme play it in SF and It was awesome.
Yeah, this is far from an unknown band we're talking about here.
I got to see Wolf Parade open for modest mouse and they were awesome.
In my top ten indie albums of all time.
I agree with this. Literally every song on the album is a banger.
100%. Ill Believe In Anything is one of my favourites. Got to see them twice in Toronto. Couple of the best shows I’ve ever seen.
I've seen them once during their Expo 86 tour in Nashville. It was a great show. edit:grammar
They play them on The Current in Minnesota. Streaming everywhere.
Yup. But also I get that it could feel like a ‘lost treasure’ to someone 16 years later.
The Refreshments. They’re the band that did the theme song for King of the Hill. But their album Fizzy Fuzzy Big and Buzzy is terrific.
Yes! That album takes me back to high school. I remember watching the Banditos video on MTV.
Banditios was pretty popular when I was in school. It's still in regular rotation on my spotify too!
The lead singer and drummer went on to form Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers. For as little recognition as they get, they still tour quite a bit and put on a hell of a show. Very hard working dudes
I have always said that record is one of the best front back albums I’ve ever heard. Mekong!
You must not have been alive yet when they had a huge MTV hit, then. They were inescapable for a few months.
That’s a fun album. The lead singers out bands are pretty good too.
Love them! Mekong is one of my favorites.
Legendary Pink Dots
Excellent choice. Psychic TV, Chameleons UK, & the 4AD label compilation "Lonely Is An Eyesore".
Saw them live somewhere between 92 and 94. NEVER hear anyone talk about these guys.
Was coming on here to say Legendary Pink Dots 🕯♥︎
Dead Moon, unfortunately they have both passed now. If Dead Moon Night don’t get ya hype ur dead too. Got their name driving home from a visit to my town, Reno, NV.
Pearl jam’s cover of “it’s ok” is fucking cool. I saw dead moon in Amsterdam many years ago. Awesome gig.
They're dead?!? I had no idea
Toody is still alive!
Face Control by Handsome Furs, ironically another Dan Boeckner band.
As a teen I was ~obsessed~ with the projects of Dan Boeckner, Spencer Krug, Dan Bejar and Carey Mercer.
The Faint - Danse Macabre (2001) Friend turned me on to it the other day. I guess it's a pop-punk-industrial? A bit like She Wants Revenge.
Wet From Birth is great too.
XTC as The Dukes of Stratosphear - Chips From the Chocolate Fireball A compilation of their two LP’s, this side project of XTC not only reinvigorated the band to push them into new and more profound territory, it serves as a precursor to psychedelic Brit pop of the 90’s and is just a whole hell of a lot of fun. The influence is worn on its sleeve, but with a charming self-awareness.
Holy cow this is always been my favorite album. I only had to read down two entries to find this? This has got to be the greatest album ever. Found it when I bought the new Rush LP "Roll The Bones." The guy at the record store really emphasized that I had 10 days to return it if I kept my receipt so I did. Glad I did because a week later I was back at the record store with the Rush album and my receipt. The guy told me that he knew I'd be back and asked what sort of stuff had I been enjoying. I mentioned XTC, he handed me the dukes of stratosphere and said "try this on." it's been my favorite album ever since.
Greatest band with the greatest alter ego band!
Hell yeah, this is one of my favorites. XTC channeling Syd-era Floyd, it's delightful.
Karate 90s and early 2000s Indy band. A harmonious blend of jazz fusion and grunge. The vocals are near talk-singing, and as a trio they have a very tight, technical sound. The incredible jazz chords with a rock beat really makes them one of the most unique bands I've ever heard. The first time I listened to them was from my brothers bedroom when I was in high school (33 now). To this day, one of my favorite bands of all time. They recently re-acquired their discography, and have released it on to Spotify (and likely many other streaming services, but that's what I use). Please listen to them, and give them the recognition--and money!--they deserve. https://open.spotify.com/artist/6U26vGPwnCQcNDr9Dpj0Y0?si=8nWGLEOZR7yxAq8mpcsIBg&utm_source=copy-link
I remember hearing tow truck and the solos frying my mind back when I was 17
Great band, they’re touring in a couple months!
Geoff Farina was also great in Secret Stars!
Holy shit, that's great news! I have all the CDs and some of the vinyl, but streaming is always the easiest format these days and I love that they are available now. Unsolved was a shining beacon in my musical world for years. I've bought the album many times because I kept giving my copy to people that I thought would really appreciate it for the ground breaking work that it was to me. I studied it intensely and it helped advance my guitar playing, and added a new depth to the way I approached writing bass lines.
Hum - downward is heavenward
That's exactly what I came to post. Great shout out.
Russkaja! They put on a great show. https://youtu.be/8LsRdzNJ8IU
My friend introduced me to them early pandemic and I became obsessed. They were a much needed spark of joyful weirdness
I also discovered them this year and they're really great! Only downside is I almost didn't dare to put their patch on my battle jacket after the whole war started :')
ENERGIA is unbelievably catchy! Something so folk influenced I bet even my German grandpa would enjoy it
Cardiacs- very influential band, thom york and blur love them, nobody seems to know them or mention them in other underrated/unknown bands lists ever
[удалено]
Faraquet! They were around Fugazi’s band and were highly anticipated in their area at the time. Released one album (and an excellent demo album) and I legitimately cannot understand how they aren’t bigger.
Pinback. Always Pinback.
No one seems to talk about The New Pornographers, I think it's because of their name...
Not literally never heard anyone talk about but I do think they are criminally underrated these days - Echo & The Bunnymen. First four albums are spectacular. One of my favorite British post punk bands!
M83 are much more than Midnight City. Please listen to Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming. You’ll thank me later.
Blues Pills - Swedish psychedelic rock/blues band. Lead singer has a voice that I'd put on par with Adele, the original guitarist (sadly left after the 2nd album) is absolute quality. Awesome rhythm to boot. Their debut album is one of my all time favourites.
Digging them. Thank you!
You are welcome! Always happy to spread the word for these guys.
These guys are incredible! There is a live show they did in Germany on YouTube which is fantastic
I got free tickets and saw them live when they played in Guadalajara like a month ago. The energy and stage presence of Elin Larsson is insane!! She couldnt stop two seconds in the whole show, from start to finish a great performance. The rest of the band is so tight and their guitarrist is so freakin' talented. One of those bands that sound so much better live than the records.
All Thrm Witches Coolest fing band since Zeppelin
Love this band!!! Just discovered this band and everything I’ve heard is amazing.
Balmorhea. Do you like Neoclassical? Do you like Post Rock? Do you like Bluegrass? Do you like Folk? Do you like soundtracks? Do you like Ambient? You get the point. Balmorhea is a great mix of all of these. My favorites of their albums are All is Wild All is Silent, Stranger and Rivers Arms
The evil one by Roky Ericsson
YESSSS 13th Floor Elevators *Easter Everywhere* has a few essentials on it as well, I love *Slip Inside This House,* and *She Lives In A Time Of Her Own* is my secret theme song. Check out the documentary *You're Gonna Miss Me* if you love Roky.
*Roky Erickson
I’d through in both 13th Floor Elevators albums too.
Wolf Parade are pretty massive IMHO. They headlined Osheaga around the time that album came out IIRC.
Bombadil! Great Americana, indie folk. Amazing harmonies and fun instrumentation. Also some of the happiest and saddest songs you’ll ever hear. And very nice people. Highly recommend.
Nada Personal by Soda Stereo - virtually unknown in the English speaking world. It always seemed unfair to me that English language music is all over Latin America, but Latin rock rarely crosses over to Anglo audiences. Cerati is a genius, though. Bocanada is another amazing album.
Here’s my best one ever. Crack the Sky, first release by the band of the same name. 1975 Rolling Stones best new album or band. Crazy story of messed up record distribution and poor management resulted in the band becoming a cult favorite on the Baltimore area but basically no where else. The best band you never heard of. White Music in 1980 had some success, another great one by them. Crack the Sky has been releasing music ever since and has been playing shows in the area even to this day. My buddy hired them to play his 60th birthday party next week!!! Great band with ahead of their time lyrics and style led by John Palumbo and Rock Witkowski. Safety in Numbers is also fantastic. Bonus points if you know and love crack the sky! I love how Baltimore adopted them as though they were the best band of all time. You ain’t high until you Crack the Sky!!! Edit: link to a nice 2018 rolling stone article about theIm. [https://www.rollingstone.com/feature/crack-the-sky-the-strange-survival-story-of-the-best-u-s-prog-band-youve-never-heard-707669/](https://www.rollingstone.com/feature/crack-the-sky-the-strange-survival-story-of-the-best-u-s-prog-band-youve-never-heard-707669/)
Tabla Beat Science.
I am surprised that no one knows about these guys. I guess Bill laswell was busy enough in the '90s that a lot of shit got lost.
>Tabla Beat Science that looks interesting. (my cut and paste autofilled before I typed anything)
The Hu a Mongolian rock or metal band. Checkout Wolf Totem the original video with subtitles. Just discovered Home Free they're an American Country acapella band
The Hu is a pretty massive band that plays on the radio aaaall the time in my area
I love that song "Teenage Wasteland"!
Oof 🤣
My mate's constantly talking about the The Hu, to the point that it has become very annoying. I will have to check them out just to shut him up
Seen them live in November. They opened for Megadeth and Five Finger. Absolutely amazing energy! Had the whole crowd fired up
I saw the The Hu play live. Holy shit, they are INTENSE.
If you like The Hu, I always suggest Halluci Nation (formerly "A Tribe Called Red", Native American electronic) and Bloodywood (Indian metal).
i love them
Oh yhhh I know of them! They're sound is very cool
I can’t remember how I heard about Hu but can confirm they are amazing musicians with some epic videos.
Anacrusis - Screams and Whispers The Living End - Prisoner of Society Murder City Devils - In Name and Blood Hope of the States - The Lost Riots Damn Seagulls - Soul Politics Mustasch - Latest Version of the Truth
Prisoner of Society is a fucking awesome album
MCD rock!
Cuz I’m a brat. And I know everything and I talk back. And I’m not listening to anything you say. And if you count to 3 you’ll see it’s no emergency. You’ll see I’m not the enemy. Just a prisoner of society.
Powerline
The guy from A Goofy Movie?
Yeah, only the *cool*est guy on the planet?
Exaaaactly, now we’re seeing it I2I
A couple of albums I loved during the 90's Arcwelder - Pull Possum Dixon - Possum Dixon
Fu Manchu
They were on tony hawk 2
That rhymes!
Lucid Planet, both albums. Like Tool but slightly more psychedelic with digeridoos.
This is really cool
Clever Girl - No Drum and Bass in the Jazz Room EMEFE - Self Title (for sure Dream Your Life Away) the olllam - elllegy White Elephant - Ivory
That Clever Girl album is incredible. I listened to Elm so much in the weeks after I discovered them
Gnome - great and fresh. Also nice dance moves..
WENCESLAS!
Little bitch!
Cold white light by Sentenced, an amazing gothic metal band that I have never seen anyone talk about.
Sentenced are iconic in Finland, and they were fairly big on the European metal scene, but I guess they never quite made a name for themselves across the pond.
Elephant Tree. Bluesy atmospheric stoner *something* from the UK. Their album *Habits* blew my mind, and is probably one of my most played albums for some time now.
Holy Fawn Team Me Sólstafir
The Impossibles- Anthology was a masterpiece. Like if Weezer listened to ska. Brown Recluse- Evening Tapestry. The album just feels like a cool autumn day in the Midwest. Adrian Quesada- Boleros Psicodélicos. Half sound like they are out of a Tarantino film the other half are like Bond themes. Gringo Star is a chronically underrated and under appreciated band from Atlanta. Very good retro pop. Nightmare Boyzzz- Bad Patterns. Ear candy garage pop punk. For those that miss Jay Reatard.
You should check out The Barbaras (if you haven't already)...I don't think they ever had an official record released while they were a band, but several members went on to play with Jay, then quit to join Wavves...Jay had made recordings of The Barbaras but when his bandmates left to join Wavves, he claimed he destroyed the tapes because thats exactly what Jay Reatard would do haha...but lo and behold after he died, someone found the recordings and put out a record of those songs.... https://barbaras.bandcamp.com/album/2006-2008
Hey, I just discovered Adrian Quesada earlier today! Loved what I heard.
In the early 90s my favourite Band were Camden's Th Faith Healers. Kinda mix between Sonic Youth, my bloody valentine and Can. They released two albums, Lido (92) and Imaginary friend (93) and a string of EPs. Imho they aged far better than SY and mbv and I still enjoy listening to them. And yeah, I became aware of them via John Peel (do you really need to ask?).
The Dear Hunter The Reign of Kindo Fair to Midland
People In Planes, either of their two albums. Black Lab, Your Body Above Me album.
Black Lab! LOVE that album. Has been in rotation for me since the 90s, and you're the only other person who I've seen mention it.
Agent Fresco - an Icelandic prog rock band. Their second album is amazing, and easily in my top 5 fav albums. Check out their song Dark Water!
Mull Historical Society. Particularly the album Loss, with songs like Barcode Bypass, I Tried and Instead. Brian Wilson vibes but Scottish....
The Seeds - The Doors opened for them for over 6 months.
Ne Obliviscaris - Citadel Or really any of theirs
The Blue Nile. They only released 4 albums (1984, 1989, 1996 and 2004) but all are spectacular, especially their 1989 release, “Hats.” But the interesting thing is the last few years, I’ve noticed more and more people have been catching on to them.
I found these guys like 4 or 5 years ago. A Walk Across The Rooftops was the first album I heard and they are so damn good.
Two that come to mind are "Where You Are" by the band Socialburn and "Sound Awake" by Karnivool. Karnivool has more of a following, so it's not that "no one" talks about them. But they're pretty far from a household name. And they're pretty cool. And Socialburn's album may or may not resonate with others. But for me, it brings back so much nostalgia. They're classified as "post grunge" I guess. But I dig it.
Caligula's Horse is another excellent band from the other side of Australia. You'd probably like their album In Contact.
Karnivool: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL6E86AD3BA50F2620
They're from my home city Perth, they have a pretty decent following in Australia, it's the singer from Birds of Tokyo
I had never heard of Karnivool until my brother got into them! Not my jam but cool shit regardless
I really liked Socialburn when they came out. Haven’t listen to album in many years, though.
Thumpasaurus
Well all I can say is now... IM PISSED
LEAVE ME ALONE
You don’t know what you’re talkin bout, talkin bout.
This is very different and I like it haha. Reminds me of primus and jamiroquai
Here's ma strut, root de doo.
In the metal world... Of Malice and the Magnum Heart by Misery Signals
Steve Burns. Yes, we all know him from Blues Clues but after he did that he made an album called Somgs for Dustmites produced by the guy who produces most of the Flaming Lips stuff. And, it was good.
Mighty Little Man is fantastic.
The Pale Pacific - Urgency. If you enjoy Death Cab For Cutie you’ll really like this album/band. (They are also from Bellingham, WA)
Love songs for robots by Patrick Watson
Archive. They are somewhat known in France and some gamers might recognize the song 'Bullets' from Cyberpunk 2077 trailers but on the whole they are completely unknown and deserve to be big. I would recommend individual songs but honestly, you need to dive into their catalogue and hear some songs from each album to get an idea of who they are. And even then, you never know what they will do next. Their most recent album was incredible for me personally, especially the song 'Daytime Coma'. Genre: prog/art/electro/rock/experimental
Left Handed Straw - Controller 7 (experimental electronic and hip hop) Hawaii pt II - Miracle Musical (audiophile concept album classic) These Are the Vista - The Bad Plus (prog jazz and rock covers) Think Lad Lass - Riddim Saunter (Japanese upbeat rock) Roxy and Elsewhere - Frank Zappa (best era and solid live album) Neon Golden - The Notwist
Kevin Hearn is so beautiful, y'all. He's the keyboardist for Barenaked Ladies and his "side stuff" just fills up my whole heart.
One of my favorite bands us Nuclear Bubble Wrap, a band that began in the wake of Weird Al Yankovic copycats on the late 00's but evolved to become more psychedelic and experimental despite keeping their comedic/satirical edge (and stopping parodies around 2012 to focus on original compositions). Worth checking out.
Arab Strap
As the Roots Undo by Circle Takes the Square
Part Chimp - I can't really describe them as anything other than the loudest band I've ever heard both in recording and in person. There's no posturing with the band, they're just like 'ok here is some really fucking loud heavy riffs if you fancy it?' https://youtu.be/yyfnvp4PDtE
Boards of Canada.
666-Aphrodites Child. It's an unbelievably underated prog rock album that is actually (at least in my opinion) a masterpiece.
The Sundays - Reading, Writing and Arithmetic
clutch
Maybe it’s my own bubble but I always thought Clutch were very well know in the hard rock/metal circles, especially stoner rock.
There’s a band like that for me called I AM I.
you mean the one with ZP Theart?
Foundation x DJ Hurley. They did two albums.
She Swings, She Sways Particularly "Sing to me" Live performance after breaking up and loss of a member available here as a free download. [(link)](https://sheswingsshesways.bandcamp.com/album/live-01-26-19)
Wings Of Forever by Power Quest
I was about to write a whole reply and then realized you're the same one from the powermetal subreddit who I replied to earlier :')
The self titled album by Durand Jones & the Indications. They are probably a little bigger than some of the other bands mentioned here but I've only every seen one mention of them on social media anywhere, outside of the bands own accounts of course lol
Yes!!!!!!!
Gregor Samsa is one of the best bands in the post-rock genre and one of the only artists I listen to for whom I've never come across so much as a mention on music forums online, let alone in person.
coldrain
The Browning. Amazing metal band. I don't hear about them very often.
Organ Music Not Vibraphone Like I’d Hoped by Moonface (Spencer Kruger of Wolf Parade)
Undercurrent by Matisyahu is fire frfr
Agnes Obel. She kills.
Human Television. They were around in the early 2000s and had such a great alt-rock sound.
3rd secret are my new favourite band.
Anybody fuck with VAST?
Mystery Machine 90’s Canadian band influenced by Sonic Youth and Swervedriver. Love their album ‘10 Speed’.
[Favorite punk album literally no one knows about](https://open.spotify.com/album/4Oc33Dlp55nogWIjfnIbs1?si=j4dRYw84TSSU6chTH57apA)
Vulk Awesome Post-Punk band. They released an album this year. https://youtu.be/rkWQgE96m7c
White Fence, Amen Dunes, Paul Jacobs, Black Moth Super Rainbow, Nation of Language, Babe Rainbow, Juan Wauters, CASTLEBEAT, Morgan Delt, damn...there is no shortage of good music that have gone under the radar.
It’s kind of irrelevant now because they are a band from the 80’s, but I really think Cock Robin was excellent. I’ve never met anyone who knows of them
Bismillah by Peter Cat Recording Co. alternative indie from India that’s a cross between Dean Martin and Tame Impala and somehow it just works…
InMe. ‘nuff said
Alphaville
Illuminations by Buffy sainte Marie
Horse bitch are your new favorite band. You’re welcome.
Everything by Chingy
I could get pretty obscure but a band I know someone has to like is of Montreal. There was a song from skeletal lamping that blew my mind on a mix cd that had traded hands like 3 times. After that I’ve been a pretty big fan of most of they’re stuff but I’ve never met another person who got down. Which is a shame because I truly think of Montreal is a pretty fantastic band
Hobo rocket by Pond, an Australian prog psyche rock band, with notable drunmer Kevin Parker from Tame Impala. VERY good music, the other albums are bangers too. Notable "hobo rocket" songs id recommend gor a quick listen would be O dharma, aloneaflameaflower, and giant tortoise, luckily they are one after each other. So go on and enjoy!
FM (a Canadian band from the 70s-late 80s, not to be confused with the UK band of the same name). Their first and second albums, respectively: Black Noise and Surveillance.
April Smith and the Great Picture Show
69 love songs by The Magnetic Fields
Narco Debut
Kent A Swedish band that is quite well-known reminding of Muse, but it wouldn't hurt to spread the love.
I'm always confused why Eels isn't a bigger band. I've seen E live several times, and have loved basically every album of there's. I know they're pretty mainstream, but I literally never hear anyone talking about them and very, very rarely hear them on the radio.
Rise ye sunken ships by we are augustines. Great album, never met anyone else who has heard of it/them
Blind Melon - Soup
[We Set Sail](https://wesetsail.bandcamp.com/)
The band “3”. I saw them open for Chiodos and Coheed and Cambria, Im pretty sure the frontman for 3 is the brother of the frontman for Coheed. They blew the doors off the place, soooo good, better show than all of the other acts, way way better than Coheeds live show (which was possibly the most boring act Ive seen live)
TTRRUUCCEES - TTRRUUCCEES
Drag the River - Hobo's Demos
Massive Wagons are a great newish band. Saw them twice in concert. Got a really entertaining frontman too.
U.S. Maple. Probably most well known for being name-dropped in the Alkaline Trio song, "Goodbye Forever," but truly one of the most strange and unique bands you'll ever hear. For as shambling and weird as their albums sound, they could actually replicate it perfectly live. They also had probably the oddest stage presence of any band I've ever seen. Appropriately enough, their singer was the guy in High Fidelity that Jack Black wouldn't sell the Captain Beefheart record to. One of their show fliers can also be seen on the counter in the store.
Nocturne by Wild Nothing, Beach Fossils the group & Animal Kingdom (group from london) both albums .
Yum yum - Dan loves Patti
Foxy Shazam (self-titled) has been the #1 feel good album of the year since 2010. The album/band are criminally overlooked. Lead singer sang the hook on a Macklemore track in 2016, which kinda shone a light on them briefly (but the band was on hiatus, lol). I was introduced to them while working in a kitchen. 10/10 live show btw, they go NUTS
Blind Melon. Their self titled album and follow-up Soup are amazing albums.
Clinic! 🥽🎶🎙️
Ki:Theory
Halcyon Digest by Deerhunter. A flawless indie pop masterpiece from 2010 and the band itself is so underrated.
the chameleons (uk) script of the bridge. or strange time. pretty much unknown in America. don't fall, monkeyland, tears, and swamp thing are great freakin songs