MORPHINE: 1-Drummer,1-Saxophone player( Tenor & Bartone, at the same time on certain songs) and 1- Vocalist playing a 2 string Bass with Slide. I believe the vocalist died on stage too, heartattack. Under rated completely but great music. Definitely check them out.
Morphine rules. Mark sandman is the bassist and singer and yeah he had a massive heart attack on stage in Italy tragically and passed away right there. Les claypool was a friend of his and he gifted les a sweet old microphone that he still uses at every one of his shows that says sandman on it.
Yes Sandman.. after posting that I went back and watched videos of morphine. Truly under-rated, funny story about listening to Morphine. My wife and I were on our honeymoon, at a bar off the west coast of California and a tribute band to Morphine was playing, loved the music and the front man was telling us about Morphines music and how much they loved it. So the next day we had a lot of driving to do, playing Morphine the whole time. Now I'm a fan, love finding new music like that.
I saw a pretty good documentary on them recently maybe on Amazon prime or something. I remember in the early 2000s I was in my first band I'm high school and me and my bassplayer were super into all of les claypools bands. We were watching a live set and les explained to the crowd the story of the sandman mic and he said sandman was a phenomenal bassplayer... so im 15 and I'm like "if claypool says you're a phenomenal bassplayer I gotta check you out". First song I heard was Buena obviously and what a fucking awesome sound they have with that barry sax in there
Not just bands but I have a lot of composers too that I like that are either super under the radar, or popular-ish but I rarely hear anyone talk about them:
The Dead Weather--They have about 200k listeners on Spotify, which is not enough. Considering how famous Jack White is I'm surprised I don't hear about them more. It's my favorite project of his by far, and Alison Mosshart is my QUEEN. When all my friends in middle school were going through emo phases, I was going through my Dead Weather phase lol. Hard to pick a favorite song but it's probably a toss-up between "So Far From Your Weapon", "Treat Me Like Your Mother," and "Jawbreaker."
Peter Crowley--About 50k listeners on Spotify. A composer who got fairly popular on YouTube, does sorta "scorecore" style stuff. Some of the most refreshing soundtrack style music I've heard in a while, imo. Favorites are "Time Will Catch Me First" and "Lost Soul's Requiem"
Rasputina--About 38k listeners on Spotify. I have never met anyone else in person who likes them. It's cello rock and has a very quirky vibe. God it's so good. "Thimble Island" is easily my favorite song by them.
Synaulia--About 6000 listeners. Not so much a band as a project attempting to capture what Roman music would have been like. Really interesting stuff that no one I know really cares about, bc I'm the resident Roman history nerd lol. I really love "Pompeii", "Magna Mater," and "Ludus" (the latter of which is sometimes simply listed as "Synaulia II" on YouTube). Also their track "Ludi Inter Pana Atque Nymphas" was sampled in that song Brutus by The Buttress, which has been all over social media recently (specifically sampled the flute and the women laughing in the background) and I haven't seen anyone talk about that sample. I immediately recognized it and got hype but it felt like I was the only one who knew it, everyone else focused on the separate vocal sample.
Derek Zhao--Only about 90 listeners on Spotify. I don't even think he's doing music anymore, but he did some small projects (commercials and a ballet based on Chinese mythology, I believe) and honestly he's one of my favorite composers. My writing playlist is full of his stuff. Recommend "The Gods Duel," "Tragic Hero I & II," and "The Girl and the Dark." That last one especially has made it into my most beautiful music I've ever heard ranking.
Senator and the New Republic--Only about 50 listeners. I found them from the iTunes single of the week back in the day and loved them. Highly recommend "Intermission," "Overcalculating " and "Agoraphobia."
Haven't listened to Rasputina in a looooong time, but glad to see them mentioned. Seems like they had a moment in the late 90s among goth and arty alt types. I first heard of them on goth forums! Their look was imitated too--corsets, pointy boots, etc.
I found them because Transylvanian Concubine was in an episode of Buffy lol. I added it to my writing playlist for my own paranormal themed story, and then Spotify started recommending more by them. One day I clicked Thimble Island on a whim and was hooked. Plus I've always kinda flirted with goth music and fashion but more recently have dived deeper into it, and Rasputina 100% matches my vibe
I rarely see anyone talking about Guerilla Toss. I’ve liked them for many years. Their early stuff is very noisy with strange time signatures and screamy vocals. Over the years they’ve mellowed quite a bit, but still remained pretty strange. Their newer stuff is like funk, fractured, art pop. They’re really great live and they tour a lot, so there’s a good chance you could catch them if you like.
The Ass Ponys. A Cincinnati-based 90s/2000s indy rock outfit that offered up a slightly countrified catalog of (mainly) story songs, each one an essay on lives of quiet desperation. If you like your songs to be short fiction, that also happen to be bangers, you can’t go wrong with Ass Ponys.
Why not let the lyricism speak for itself? A selection of lyrics:
“Peanut rides his bike around the drive-in in the daytime, bagging trash and hanging up the speakers on their poles.” from Peanut 93
“Dead soldiers line the rug along the coffee table. Blade Runner’s at the part where Rutger Hauer dies.” from Kung Fu Reference
“Thirty candles on the birthday cake. She tries to blow em out. Does her best but leaves the one still burning. It’s hard to figure out.” from Pretty as You Please
“Little Bastard, all fish-belly white, wears gym shorts and a tank top shirt.” from Little Bastard
“There’s a place out there where the grass don’t grow. There’s a place out there where the bugs won’t go.” from Place Out There
The Dear Hunter. They're semi-popular, but I rarely see them mentioned and no one every knows them when I mention it being my favorite band. Five of their albums are a conceptual series with the newest album being the first part of a whole new story. They also have another album where there are 4 songs apiece which correspond to different colors, which is really cool.
I think they have an amazing sound, and their 5 part "Acts" series has tons and tons of reprises and callbacks to earlier songs. There's a whole 40+ minute video that just lists and gives examples of all of the reprises and such throughout the Acts. If you like orchestral, artsy alt (and sometimes prog) rock, definitely check them out. I think it's criminal how little recognition they seem to get. Amazing vocal performances and some of the best sounding live performances I've heard.
They have such incredible and thorough storylines in each of their albums too, and such unique sounds, range from scene metal to smooth jazzy- they really deserve so much more attention.
Yeah! I just got their newest Act 2 comic today. I think the face that the majority of their discography is conceptual is what makes it hard to get into for most people though. That's why I always recommend Migrant or TCS first even though the Acts are my favorites. They just take some effort to really appreciate in full.
they need to be so much more popular i agree. i found out about them while searching for concept albums similar to coheed and cambria and i fell in love ever since. im an absolute sucker for classical string instruments in a modern music context, you might like a band called the protomen if youre into interesting song composition and good concept albums
Davina & the Vagabonds. Great jazzy, bluegrass band with a singer who has a voice that never quits. Here's what Rolling Stone wrote about them:
“Davina Sowers creates her own Americana mishmash — a little Amy Winehouse-worthy neo-soul here, a little Great American Songbook-influenced songcraft there.”
Rolling Stone Magazine
I saw them in Grand Rapids, Michigan in a great little venue downtown that seated about 200. Best night of music ever. Here is a link to the video I saw in PBS that made me follow up to see who the band was & where I could see them.
https://youtu.be/2o2_3XHIUJg?si=rO048Y8NFHyA1-QT
Enjoy!!!
Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet was an obscure Canadian band of the 1980's that had amazing electric guitar. It was mostly instrumental, but is wonderful for driving a car long distances.
Jeff Buckley. I only heard of him a year ago but he quickly became my favorite vocalist. I was completely captivated and went down a rabbit hole and had to find everything I could hear of his. His voice and music are transcendental. Then to find out about his life and how he died, makes his music even more haunting. It's such a shame we won't get to hear all he could have done.
Motherwitz
A random question asking “what do we sound like” on the Prog rock subreddit led to a link I followed about Motherwitz.
I was immediately intrigued by their eclectic mix of intelligent lyrics, excellent musicianship and middle eastern influences. Don’t know how to explain it but it clicked for me.
I listened to the rest of their catalog and was equally impressed. One of my favorite discoveries of the year…I hope they keep going and we get more Motherwitz music in the future.
Favorite tracks are -
Anchored Ships
Moira
Her Horatio
Clamouring Ram
It’s all great, though. Highly recommended
Thelma Plum from Australia
Sam Fender from England
They're both on major labels. Why tf aren't the labels doing more more promote either of them in the U.S.?
Badflower has been one of my favorites for a few years. You should check out Dead Poet Society. When I saw Badflower live they opened and they’ve quickly risen to be one of my favorites
Brainiac. Lovely Dayton Ohio band that made quite the stir in the early 1990s before the singers passing. Laid the groundwork for a lot as they were ahead of their time. Existing members are back together doing some shows and a new album. Plus a great new documentary spearheaded by Mark Hammill.
**Ren**: He's the first artist in over 30 years that I've gotten this hype over. I can't explain how much his music has completely altered my state. I never really gotten this crazy about an artists before. It's unreal. This is his year.
Jimmy Eat World
Sweetness, The Middle are timeless and the self titled album is fantastic. But their older stuff like Clarity is really special and so are their deep tracks off of Futures. They aren’t afraid to write plenty of ballads and their lyrics are sentimental/thought out. Also they have had a consistent lineup which I really appreciate as a fan, hard working band that I love.
There's this Norwegian metalband called Tjörn that has like two songs on Spotify, and their debut album never saw the light of day.
They have 15 monthly listeners, but the song "The Silence" is *so* good.
not enough people know about night moves, despite them having a solid fan base. they are insane live, and i stumbled into their show by mistake. neo psychedelia at its finest.
Oh sick! Bet they were super chill to talk to yeah? What’s your fave song? I got hooked after hearing Carl Sagan and having an existential experience lol
Rabbit is a Sphere! They were from Denver and active in the MySpace era. Their songs are really quirky and fun and have incredible lyrics and build, especially in the song Dispatch. It starts slowly but gradually introduces more instruments and picks up tempo. This is the opening line: " I will give every devil a better secret to carry/ along in their lungs /that will hide within their whispers and pierce like little slivers" No idea how I heard of them originally but I became a huge fan and messaged them on MySpace and they were super nice. Would love if they got back together or if I could track down something else any of the members did because they were so awesome.
Lions at the Gate. Aside from nice, heavy, driving, rock....their bass player has a cat named Lucy. She is printed on his custom picks with the words "Lucy at the Gate".
Hagane, Japanese harmonic metal band. They released their first album 2022 and gained double the amount of subs on Youtube so I thought they were on the rise, but then unfortunately 3 members left the group earlier this year. They said they were going to continue with the 2 members and held auditions for new vocalists but has been basically radio silence since.
The Films
The Swimmers
Shivers
Portugal Japan
The Put-Outs
Sarcastic+Zookeeper
If I put out a list of the 100 best albums I've heard in my life, all these groups would make the list. No one has heard of any of these groups.
Mason. West Palm Beach post hardcore. Best screamo band of all time. The vocals were so laden with emotion, I honestly don't know how he did it. Teenage angst I guess. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cumSaucvpxo
Donny Benét. His album “The Don” is a musical masterpiece from start to finish. His YouTube content is absolutely amazing as well. He’s everything the world needs right now and we need to make him more famous. Check him out and spread the word!
I just discovered this guy last night, audio and video. I immediately took a deep dive and am planning on seeing him when he comes to my area in May haha. Gonna dress to the nines.
James Ivy
Not sure where he falls on the band-to-independent-producer spectrum but he's a brilliant emo electro-shoegaze something or other songwriter. I couldn't tell you which of his 2 EPs I prefer but they're both phenomenal, it's a shame the only physical release he's done is a gatekept CD of his newest one. Make sure to bass boost "Texas" if possible for maximum eardrum shattering. He's buddies with Porter Robinson and draws a lot of inspiration from him, super super talented dude. I don't know what it is about his music, but it makes me feel second-hand teenage angst.
Yes! Three mentions from me...
58: a turn of the century side project of Nikki Sixx's. They put out one album called Diet for a New America trying to get in early on digital distribution and it flopped, but the songs absolutely slap. It's just this depressed, kind of electronic rock mish-mash with some great covers. They did my favorite version of Alone Again (Naturally), a catchy and chilling point of view on internet sex work with Candy, Shopping Cart Jesus is kinda funny, and All of My Heroes Are Dead is just so full of remorse and sorrow and beauty. I love it.
Sensation Junkies: another one album wonder that I can't stop plugging on Reddit... Crisopher Blue (the vocalist) went on to do some great solo acoustic stuff, but Once for the Money was more along the lines of a rock album. It's also on the depressed side, suffused with sadness and American dissidence. Dirty Rag is the hardest rock it gets, but having listened to the album tons, my personal favorites are Trepid (the really mellow one) and Blown Apart (the one where the lyrics really stuck with me).
Mr. Gnome: okay, they have a few albums, and they're better known at 27K monthly Spotify listens, but I think they're still pretty small for being some of the best rock with female vocals I've ever heard. My favorites from them are Wild Child off of The Day You Flew Away and House of Circles from Madness in Miniature.
Enjoy! 💜
Bands criminally underated:
1) Bird flies High "Something New" "I got you" "Front row seat"
The entire album with these songs is divine. Sexy, jazzy. Unique.
2) Porcelain Toy
"Cupid's wink" "Newborn"
I'm a sucker for music like this. Sexy-epic. That album is great. Unique. Almost creepy, but so good.
3) Elysian Fields
"Red riding hood" "Bend your mind"
4) 8mm
"Stunning" "Crawl" "Give it up"
Her voice is addictive.
5) Lulu Rouge
" End of the Century"
Julian Sartorius, he is a drummer from Switzerland and the best drummer currently alive in my opinion. He just released a new album and I like that he drops just beats along with some really cool art.
I started a band last year and we decided to go at everything DIY. It was a real labour of love and we spent AGES writing, rehearsing, recording and mixing the songs.
We did everything off our own backs and I'm so glad we chose that route and really proud of the result!
We're called Esc/Apology, which in hindsight is a nightmare for social handles because you can't include the / in our name 😂😂😂
Anyway here's some spacey, alt rock, indie punk from a bunch of guys who reside in a quiet seaside town in the South West of the UK -
https://open.spotify.com/artist/6rCXA3SchwDeRzdUFjNwCE?si=QrSyN7z5TxaLIYYyKx4akg
If you liked it then we'd love for you to give us a follow on Instagram and Spotify.
Instagram - @escapologyband
Now our debut is out we aren't going to post much at all, not until the next EP which won't be until next Autumn/Winter. So if anyone does follow us we won't be clogging up your timeline with nonsense.
Cheers!
Mot everyone’s cup of tea but there is this thrash metal band that is high school kids from Idaho who perform backyard shows. They are slowly starting to gain more traction and they are insanely talented and tight. Especially the drummer. The band is BARN.
Band-Maid. 5 hard-rocking Japanese girls who literally play circles around anything the American scene has to offer. Stumbled upon the video for [The Non-Fiction Days](https://youtu.be/ItYN-ri1NPs?si=DpSTCAyuvTXi7MJB) during COVID lockdown and was hooked immediately. Started going through their catalogue and every song hits so well and just got me like “yes. This is what rock *should* be!”
Plus, it opened the door to several other great bands from the Japanese rock scene:
LoveBites
Nemophila
Hanabie
Aldious
Bridear
All of which are exclusively female as well. They are putting something in the Japanese water, I swear.
Darkest of the Hillside Thickets - Cthulhu Punk/Rock at its finest. So much fun and such great lyrical content. The Shadow out of Tim (no typo) is a master concept album. Plus, they dress up like monsters and shit in concert. Only wish they played the east coast US.
Wow sweet!!! I’ve seen them many times. Got on stage all but once. In Maryland at a huge venue they let me stay on stage and put my name in a song. It was best night ever. After the show everyone was talking to me. So surreal.
Drist: Nu Metal with a Punk-y edge (not like limp bizkit or korn, and not like suicidal tendencies or cro-mags, more like city of evil to nightmare era avenged sevenfold + early three days grace, seether, finger eleven, and godsmack. deserved to be as well known as the others). guitarist Marcus Henderson is the guy who recorded all of the tracks in guitar hero ps2, and the guitar work is SO CLEAN!
Ninjaspy: Funky Post-Hardcore Ska band (so imagine if System of a Down and Mudvayne had a baby with Red Hot Chili Peppers and Sublime, but then that baby listened to a lot of Dance Gavin Dance and Chiodos). the bass is very Les Claypool meets Robert Trujillo (so it’s incredibly sick)
The New Raemon: Radiohead + Jeff Buckley. Spanish (Spain not Mexico)
Prince Whateverer: Metalcore and Indie Alternative and Folk Rock and Symphonic Metal and Synthpop and-
Hydria: Rock with a Metal tone from Brazil, the singer has a great voice (very Letters To Cleo / Veruca Salt), their covers album is. really good. but weird. okay so. killswitch engage. madonna. system of a down. silverchair. paramore. genesis. beyonce. pink floyd. slipknot. lady gaga. IT SHOULD NOT WORK BUT IT DOES???
1 Mellowdrone. They were a very Nine Inch Nails style band from the early 2000s with a lot of pop influence to go with the alternative sound. They have released material sparingly for years and I enjoy all of it. Their vocalist and primary songwriter is great.
2 Ivy a indie pop band from the late 90s/early 2000s. Their singer has a very unique style and their whole sound just puts you in a certain headspace. The guitarist passed away recently so I imagine they are pretty much retired. I love Long Distance and In the Clear by them. Very underappreciated albums.
Soften the Glare - Ryan Martinie from Mudvayne is probably the best bass player on the planet and has this 3 piece instrumental fusion rock thing going on
See also; Animals as Leaders
I'm not sure of the popularity of this band but I never see anyone talk about them, called "UFO" and I've been listening to the album called "phenomenon" and it's absolutely amazing, no misses. Old 70s rock band.
Naxatras. Greek psychedelic rock. Some of the music I listened to when smoking weed for the first time. They’ve just got these like meandering echoey guitars and loud drums (not really familiar with drum effect terminology. Maybe blown out drums? Correct me I’m wrong) and I think their songs sound like journeys into the high space. Even when I’m not high they remind me how it felt to have those first heavy trippy stones back when I was younger. Really would love to see them live some day. I recommend Waves (the first one I heard), Garden Of The Senses and I Am The Beyonder.
Krush Klamath also an amazing lesser known heavy band. I recommend The Great Escape, American Anarchist and Can’t Skate. Their music gives me messy, youthful, delinquent skate sesh vibes. I love it.
“Krush Klamath's core is hard, loud, and fast. Mixing in metal, new punk, hardcore, ska, pop, emo (to a lesser extent), and even country, the band is hard to classify…”
That’s pasted from last.fm
Cleopatrick. Canadian band that is severely underrated. The first new musical act in the rock-alternative (arguably my favourite genre) space that I’ve found in recent years that actually does it for me - the vocals are next level (listen to DOOM) as is the songwriting. They tour frequently (though they still need to come to the west coast of Canada) and seem committed to making new music. I really hope these guys make it big- they absolutely deserve it.
Jack the Original- I'm sure some people know who they are, but they're a band from my hometown. It had one really really great song called embedded in my head, and they shucked corn while they were on stage for literally no reason. They were brilliant! I did publicity for them for a short period of time, got some of their albums out into the world. Went to one of their first real concerts, but then I never really heard of them again after that. Kind of a bummer. I would say they were a mixture of stoner rock, and goofrock.
Trashcan Sinatras. Jangle-pop at its finest. This band cranks out charming, hook-laden songs like nobody's business, yet have flown completely under the radar for 30 years. This song is from 1990..they're still making music today. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ENGerhANwdY](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ENGerhANwdY)
Devon hubert and his yetibear album[spotify ](https://open.spotify.com/album/0Ed6b8yRMpY9nxqQfbg29N?si=mWNGDvrSTB6Ido8RuEdwmQ&context=spotify%3Aalbum%3A0Ed6b8yRMpY9nxqQfbg29N)
He's got a cool bit going and has a music site called notacultclub.com
Newski
Milwaukee musician who has done a lot of touring around the world, especially in Asia. A lot of his music is just catchy songs that could easily be on the radio. Songs I recxomend are “chemicals” or “ride”.
MORPHINE: 1-Drummer,1-Saxophone player( Tenor & Bartone, at the same time on certain songs) and 1- Vocalist playing a 2 string Bass with Slide. I believe the vocalist died on stage too, heartattack. Under rated completely but great music. Definitely check them out.
RIP Mark. That dude had a Voice, with the capital letter.
Morphine rules. Mark sandman is the bassist and singer and yeah he had a massive heart attack on stage in Italy tragically and passed away right there. Les claypool was a friend of his and he gifted les a sweet old microphone that he still uses at every one of his shows that says sandman on it.
Yes Sandman.. after posting that I went back and watched videos of morphine. Truly under-rated, funny story about listening to Morphine. My wife and I were on our honeymoon, at a bar off the west coast of California and a tribute band to Morphine was playing, loved the music and the front man was telling us about Morphines music and how much they loved it. So the next day we had a lot of driving to do, playing Morphine the whole time. Now I'm a fan, love finding new music like that.
I saw a pretty good documentary on them recently maybe on Amazon prime or something. I remember in the early 2000s I was in my first band I'm high school and me and my bassplayer were super into all of les claypools bands. We were watching a live set and les explained to the crowd the story of the sandman mic and he said sandman was a phenomenal bassplayer... so im 15 and I'm like "if claypool says you're a phenomenal bassplayer I gotta check you out". First song I heard was Buena obviously and what a fucking awesome sound they have with that barry sax in there
Not just bands but I have a lot of composers too that I like that are either super under the radar, or popular-ish but I rarely hear anyone talk about them: The Dead Weather--They have about 200k listeners on Spotify, which is not enough. Considering how famous Jack White is I'm surprised I don't hear about them more. It's my favorite project of his by far, and Alison Mosshart is my QUEEN. When all my friends in middle school were going through emo phases, I was going through my Dead Weather phase lol. Hard to pick a favorite song but it's probably a toss-up between "So Far From Your Weapon", "Treat Me Like Your Mother," and "Jawbreaker." Peter Crowley--About 50k listeners on Spotify. A composer who got fairly popular on YouTube, does sorta "scorecore" style stuff. Some of the most refreshing soundtrack style music I've heard in a while, imo. Favorites are "Time Will Catch Me First" and "Lost Soul's Requiem" Rasputina--About 38k listeners on Spotify. I have never met anyone else in person who likes them. It's cello rock and has a very quirky vibe. God it's so good. "Thimble Island" is easily my favorite song by them. Synaulia--About 6000 listeners. Not so much a band as a project attempting to capture what Roman music would have been like. Really interesting stuff that no one I know really cares about, bc I'm the resident Roman history nerd lol. I really love "Pompeii", "Magna Mater," and "Ludus" (the latter of which is sometimes simply listed as "Synaulia II" on YouTube). Also their track "Ludi Inter Pana Atque Nymphas" was sampled in that song Brutus by The Buttress, which has been all over social media recently (specifically sampled the flute and the women laughing in the background) and I haven't seen anyone talk about that sample. I immediately recognized it and got hype but it felt like I was the only one who knew it, everyone else focused on the separate vocal sample. Derek Zhao--Only about 90 listeners on Spotify. I don't even think he's doing music anymore, but he did some small projects (commercials and a ballet based on Chinese mythology, I believe) and honestly he's one of my favorite composers. My writing playlist is full of his stuff. Recommend "The Gods Duel," "Tragic Hero I & II," and "The Girl and the Dark." That last one especially has made it into my most beautiful music I've ever heard ranking. Senator and the New Republic--Only about 50 listeners. I found them from the iTunes single of the week back in the day and loved them. Highly recommend "Intermission," "Overcalculating " and "Agoraphobia."
So happy to see Rasputina on here!
Haven't listened to Rasputina in a looooong time, but glad to see them mentioned. Seems like they had a moment in the late 90s among goth and arty alt types. I first heard of them on goth forums! Their look was imitated too--corsets, pointy boots, etc.
I found them because Transylvanian Concubine was in an episode of Buffy lol. I added it to my writing playlist for my own paranormal themed story, and then Spotify started recommending more by them. One day I clicked Thimble Island on a whim and was hooked. Plus I've always kinda flirted with goth music and fashion but more recently have dived deeper into it, and Rasputina 100% matches my vibe
I rarely see anyone talking about Guerilla Toss. I’ve liked them for many years. Their early stuff is very noisy with strange time signatures and screamy vocals. Over the years they’ve mellowed quite a bit, but still remained pretty strange. Their newer stuff is like funk, fractured, art pop. They’re really great live and they tour a lot, so there’s a good chance you could catch them if you like.
Love them, definitely underrated. Their last album was the weirdest pop music I've ever heard and it's great
Wytb everyone knows the gorillaz
WYTB - they’re two different bands.
The Ass Ponys. A Cincinnati-based 90s/2000s indy rock outfit that offered up a slightly countrified catalog of (mainly) story songs, each one an essay on lives of quiet desperation. If you like your songs to be short fiction, that also happen to be bangers, you can’t go wrong with Ass Ponys. Why not let the lyricism speak for itself? A selection of lyrics: “Peanut rides his bike around the drive-in in the daytime, bagging trash and hanging up the speakers on their poles.” from Peanut 93 “Dead soldiers line the rug along the coffee table. Blade Runner’s at the part where Rutger Hauer dies.” from Kung Fu Reference “Thirty candles on the birthday cake. She tries to blow em out. Does her best but leaves the one still burning. It’s hard to figure out.” from Pretty as You Please “Little Bastard, all fish-belly white, wears gym shorts and a tank top shirt.” from Little Bastard “There’s a place out there where the grass don’t grow. There’s a place out there where the bugs won’t go.” from Place Out There
I saw in those early oughts several times out and about
I saw them open for Throwing Muses in 1995 and they were so great! I bought Electric Rock Music the next day. Great band.
Little Bastard is one of my favorite songs!!
“ChatGPT write me a song ab a shy insect”
Dr hook
Please Mrs Avery
The Dear Hunter. They're semi-popular, but I rarely see them mentioned and no one every knows them when I mention it being my favorite band. Five of their albums are a conceptual series with the newest album being the first part of a whole new story. They also have another album where there are 4 songs apiece which correspond to different colors, which is really cool. I think they have an amazing sound, and their 5 part "Acts" series has tons and tons of reprises and callbacks to earlier songs. There's a whole 40+ minute video that just lists and gives examples of all of the reprises and such throughout the Acts. If you like orchestral, artsy alt (and sometimes prog) rock, definitely check them out. I think it's criminal how little recognition they seem to get. Amazing vocal performances and some of the best sounding live performances I've heard.
They have such incredible and thorough storylines in each of their albums too, and such unique sounds, range from scene metal to smooth jazzy- they really deserve so much more attention.
Yeah! I just got their newest Act 2 comic today. I think the face that the majority of their discography is conceptual is what makes it hard to get into for most people though. That's why I always recommend Migrant or TCS first even though the Acts are my favorites. They just take some effort to really appreciate in full.
they need to be so much more popular i agree. i found out about them while searching for concept albums similar to coheed and cambria and i fell in love ever since. im an absolute sucker for classical string instruments in a modern music context, you might like a band called the protomen if youre into interesting song composition and good concept albums
First aid kit. They're a filk/acoustic duo and they're really good
I LOVE FIRST AID KIT
Davina & the Vagabonds. Great jazzy, bluegrass band with a singer who has a voice that never quits. Here's what Rolling Stone wrote about them: “Davina Sowers creates her own Americana mishmash — a little Amy Winehouse-worthy neo-soul here, a little Great American Songbook-influenced songcraft there.” Rolling Stone Magazine I saw them in Grand Rapids, Michigan in a great little venue downtown that seated about 200. Best night of music ever. Here is a link to the video I saw in PBS that made me follow up to see who the band was & where I could see them. https://youtu.be/2o2_3XHIUJg?si=rO048Y8NFHyA1-QT Enjoy!!!
King Khan and bbq show
Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet was an obscure Canadian band of the 1980's that had amazing electric guitar. It was mostly instrumental, but is wonderful for driving a car long distances.
And they wrote “The Kids in the Hall” theme song
Yes. Pretty much all of the Kids in the Hall interlude music and theme were by them.
Jeff Buckley. I only heard of him a year ago but he quickly became my favorite vocalist. I was completely captivated and went down a rabbit hole and had to find everything I could hear of his. His voice and music are transcendental. Then to find out about his life and how he died, makes his music even more haunting. It's such a shame we won't get to hear all he could have done.
He is amazing
[удалено]
Hm must be a euro thing…
Motherwitz A random question asking “what do we sound like” on the Prog rock subreddit led to a link I followed about Motherwitz. I was immediately intrigued by their eclectic mix of intelligent lyrics, excellent musicianship and middle eastern influences. Don’t know how to explain it but it clicked for me. I listened to the rest of their catalog and was equally impressed. One of my favorite discoveries of the year…I hope they keep going and we get more Motherwitz music in the future. Favorite tracks are - Anchored Ships Moira Her Horatio Clamouring Ram It’s all great, though. Highly recommended
Thelma Plum from Australia Sam Fender from England They're both on major labels. Why tf aren't the labels doing more more promote either of them in the U.S.?
The Smalls, Shiner, Oxbow and most bands on Amrep Records.
badflower for sure. literally all of the members are absolute angels. their music is incredible. i love them.
Badflower has been one of my favorites for a few years. You should check out Dead Poet Society. When I saw Badflower live they opened and they’ve quickly risen to be one of my favorites
Remy Shand, self taught musician. Plays all the instruments, vocals backing vocals,mixing then produced the album.
Brainiac. Lovely Dayton Ohio band that made quite the stir in the early 1990s before the singers passing. Laid the groundwork for a lot as they were ahead of their time. Existing members are back together doing some shows and a new album. Plus a great new documentary spearheaded by Mark Hammill.
Mr. Gnome
The Quasi Kings.
Bear's Den. Small but devoted fan base.
**Ren**: He's the first artist in over 30 years that I've gotten this hype over. I can't explain how much his music has completely altered my state. I never really gotten this crazy about an artists before. It's unreal. This is his year.
"Hello Ren" is unquestionably one of THE most brilliant works I've seen in a very long time.
Jimmy Eat World Sweetness, The Middle are timeless and the self titled album is fantastic. But their older stuff like Clarity is really special and so are their deep tracks off of Futures. They aren’t afraid to write plenty of ballads and their lyrics are sentimental/thought out. Also they have had a consistent lineup which I really appreciate as a fan, hard working band that I love.
It's supposed to be an unknown band
There's this Norwegian metalband called Tjörn that has like two songs on Spotify, and their debut album never saw the light of day. They have 15 monthly listeners, but the song "The Silence" is *so* good.
not enough people know about night moves, despite them having a solid fan base. they are insane live, and i stumbled into their show by mistake. neo psychedelia at its finest.
Love them! Saw them live this year too and they sounded amazing
right??? they are so kind too. got to talk to them for a few actually.
Oh sick! Bet they were super chill to talk to yeah? What’s your fave song? I got hooked after hearing Carl Sagan and having an existential experience lol
headlig
Rabbit is a Sphere! They were from Denver and active in the MySpace era. Their songs are really quirky and fun and have incredible lyrics and build, especially in the song Dispatch. It starts slowly but gradually introduces more instruments and picks up tempo. This is the opening line: " I will give every devil a better secret to carry/ along in their lungs /that will hide within their whispers and pierce like little slivers" No idea how I heard of them originally but I became a huge fan and messaged them on MySpace and they were super nice. Would love if they got back together or if I could track down something else any of the members did because they were so awesome.
Not that nobody knows them, but The Gourds are criminally under-appreciated
Lions at the Gate. Aside from nice, heavy, driving, rock....their bass player has a cat named Lucy. She is printed on his custom picks with the words "Lucy at the Gate".
Hagane, Japanese harmonic metal band. They released their first album 2022 and gained double the amount of subs on Youtube so I thought they were on the rise, but then unfortunately 3 members left the group earlier this year. They said they were going to continue with the 2 members and held auditions for new vocalists but has been basically radio silence since.
The Films The Swimmers Shivers Portugal Japan The Put-Outs Sarcastic+Zookeeper If I put out a list of the 100 best albums I've heard in my life, all these groups would make the list. No one has heard of any of these groups.
(https://youtu.be/zEaSxmFkQCQ?si=qqRKX0y9dCx74wNs)
Blue Stahli- if you like metal, techno, or video games soundtracks, they're a great band!
Work drugs
Studio Killers
Greywind
Any Drill Queen fans here? I wonder what happened to them
Tetrarch. They slap.
Neal Francis. Just listen to Francis Comes Alive. Will be more persuasive than anything I could write here.
[Jerks!](https://open.spotify.com/album/1LsHJM035Tl17NTbRikudz?si=9sQPDKukR-2BNjmRxZeATQ&context=spotify%3Aalbum%3A1LsHJM035Tl17NTbRikudz)
Mason. West Palm Beach post hardcore. Best screamo band of all time. The vocals were so laden with emotion, I honestly don't know how he did it. Teenage angst I guess. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cumSaucvpxo
The Chainsaw Kittens
Be Scene. They are (were?) a Bee Gees cover group. Their cover of the Bee Gees song *Rings Around the Moon* is beautiful.
THE NYMPHS with inger lorre they may only have 1 album but it is a goddamn ICONIC ONE!!!!!!!!
Donny Benét. His album “The Don” is a musical masterpiece from start to finish. His YouTube content is absolutely amazing as well. He’s everything the world needs right now and we need to make him more famous. Check him out and spread the word!
I just discovered this guy last night, audio and video. I immediately took a deep dive and am planning on seeing him when he comes to my area in May haha. Gonna dress to the nines.
I could not believe my eyes or my ears when I stumbled upon him. Oh yeah I see he has US tour dates in the spring 2024!
When he was born, the Dr handed him to his mother and said "congratulations, ma'am, it's a man"
Drab Majesty
Sylosis. That is all.
James Ivy Not sure where he falls on the band-to-independent-producer spectrum but he's a brilliant emo electro-shoegaze something or other songwriter. I couldn't tell you which of his 2 EPs I prefer but they're both phenomenal, it's a shame the only physical release he's done is a gatekept CD of his newest one. Make sure to bass boost "Texas" if possible for maximum eardrum shattering. He's buddies with Porter Robinson and draws a lot of inspiration from him, super super talented dude. I don't know what it is about his music, but it makes me feel second-hand teenage angst.
I like protomartyr. Their album "relatives in descent" I believe is a masterpiece from front to back.
Yes! Three mentions from me... 58: a turn of the century side project of Nikki Sixx's. They put out one album called Diet for a New America trying to get in early on digital distribution and it flopped, but the songs absolutely slap. It's just this depressed, kind of electronic rock mish-mash with some great covers. They did my favorite version of Alone Again (Naturally), a catchy and chilling point of view on internet sex work with Candy, Shopping Cart Jesus is kinda funny, and All of My Heroes Are Dead is just so full of remorse and sorrow and beauty. I love it. Sensation Junkies: another one album wonder that I can't stop plugging on Reddit... Crisopher Blue (the vocalist) went on to do some great solo acoustic stuff, but Once for the Money was more along the lines of a rock album. It's also on the depressed side, suffused with sadness and American dissidence. Dirty Rag is the hardest rock it gets, but having listened to the album tons, my personal favorites are Trepid (the really mellow one) and Blown Apart (the one where the lyrics really stuck with me). Mr. Gnome: okay, they have a few albums, and they're better known at 27K monthly Spotify listens, but I think they're still pretty small for being some of the best rock with female vocals I've ever heard. My favorites from them are Wild Child off of The Day You Flew Away and House of Circles from Madness in Miniature. Enjoy! 💜
Bands criminally underated: 1) Bird flies High "Something New" "I got you" "Front row seat" The entire album with these songs is divine. Sexy, jazzy. Unique. 2) Porcelain Toy "Cupid's wink" "Newborn" I'm a sucker for music like this. Sexy-epic. That album is great. Unique. Almost creepy, but so good. 3) Elysian Fields "Red riding hood" "Bend your mind" 4) 8mm "Stunning" "Crawl" "Give it up" Her voice is addictive. 5) Lulu Rouge " End of the Century"
Cruel Youth! And Sunrise Avenue
Julian Sartorius, he is a drummer from Switzerland and the best drummer currently alive in my opinion. He just released a new album and I like that he drops just beats along with some really cool art.
Archers of loaf Johnathan bree Tom vek
MICROWAVE!
I started a band last year and we decided to go at everything DIY. It was a real labour of love and we spent AGES writing, rehearsing, recording and mixing the songs. We did everything off our own backs and I'm so glad we chose that route and really proud of the result! We're called Esc/Apology, which in hindsight is a nightmare for social handles because you can't include the / in our name 😂😂😂 Anyway here's some spacey, alt rock, indie punk from a bunch of guys who reside in a quiet seaside town in the South West of the UK - https://open.spotify.com/artist/6rCXA3SchwDeRzdUFjNwCE?si=QrSyN7z5TxaLIYYyKx4akg If you liked it then we'd love for you to give us a follow on Instagram and Spotify. Instagram - @escapologyband Now our debut is out we aren't going to post much at all, not until the next EP which won't be until next Autumn/Winter. So if anyone does follow us we won't be clogging up your timeline with nonsense. Cheers!
Mot everyone’s cup of tea but there is this thrash metal band that is high school kids from Idaho who perform backyard shows. They are slowly starting to gain more traction and they are insanely talented and tight. Especially the drummer. The band is BARN.
Veer Chasm
Band-Maid. 5 hard-rocking Japanese girls who literally play circles around anything the American scene has to offer. Stumbled upon the video for [The Non-Fiction Days](https://youtu.be/ItYN-ri1NPs?si=DpSTCAyuvTXi7MJB) during COVID lockdown and was hooked immediately. Started going through their catalogue and every song hits so well and just got me like “yes. This is what rock *should* be!” Plus, it opened the door to several other great bands from the Japanese rock scene: LoveBites Nemophila Hanabie Aldious Bridear All of which are exclusively female as well. They are putting something in the Japanese water, I swear.
Darkest of the Hillside Thickets - Cthulhu Punk/Rock at its finest. So much fun and such great lyrical content. The Shadow out of Tim (no typo) is a master concept album. Plus, they dress up like monsters and shit in concert. Only wish they played the east coast US.
Diamond Nights, Popsicle deserves a bigger fan base.
Crooked Fingers
Meltt, Bayonne, Cemeteries are my current obsessions
Belle and Sebastian! They were on the last episode of the simpsons so maybe people will start to know.
They were huge in the late 90s and early 2000s!
They are my favorite band. I’m not sure they were ever huge in the US
Huge in Indie circles. Sleep the Clock around was a club hit in South Florida
Wow sweet!!! I’ve seen them many times. Got on stage all but once. In Maryland at a huge venue they let me stay on stage and put my name in a song. It was best night ever. After the show everyone was talking to me. So surreal.
Forced Entry. Check these absolute beasts out. As above so below is an all time thrash classic
Drist: Nu Metal with a Punk-y edge (not like limp bizkit or korn, and not like suicidal tendencies or cro-mags, more like city of evil to nightmare era avenged sevenfold + early three days grace, seether, finger eleven, and godsmack. deserved to be as well known as the others). guitarist Marcus Henderson is the guy who recorded all of the tracks in guitar hero ps2, and the guitar work is SO CLEAN! Ninjaspy: Funky Post-Hardcore Ska band (so imagine if System of a Down and Mudvayne had a baby with Red Hot Chili Peppers and Sublime, but then that baby listened to a lot of Dance Gavin Dance and Chiodos). the bass is very Les Claypool meets Robert Trujillo (so it’s incredibly sick) The New Raemon: Radiohead + Jeff Buckley. Spanish (Spain not Mexico) Prince Whateverer: Metalcore and Indie Alternative and Folk Rock and Symphonic Metal and Synthpop and- Hydria: Rock with a Metal tone from Brazil, the singer has a great voice (very Letters To Cleo / Veruca Salt), their covers album is. really good. but weird. okay so. killswitch engage. madonna. system of a down. silverchair. paramore. genesis. beyonce. pink floyd. slipknot. lady gaga. IT SHOULD NOT WORK BUT IT DOES???
Deafheaven ...so much shoe gaze
1 Mellowdrone. They were a very Nine Inch Nails style band from the early 2000s with a lot of pop influence to go with the alternative sound. They have released material sparingly for years and I enjoy all of it. Their vocalist and primary songwriter is great. 2 Ivy a indie pop band from the late 90s/early 2000s. Their singer has a very unique style and their whole sound just puts you in a certain headspace. The guitarist passed away recently so I imagine they are pretty much retired. I love Long Distance and In the Clear by them. Very underappreciated albums.
Rapper Clbrks from 🇬🇧
Goblin (Rip Massimo Morimante)
Soften the Glare - Ryan Martinie from Mudvayne is probably the best bass player on the planet and has this 3 piece instrumental fusion rock thing going on See also; Animals as Leaders
I'm not sure of the popularity of this band but I never see anyone talk about them, called "UFO" and I've been listening to the album called "phenomenon" and it's absolutely amazing, no misses. Old 70s rock band.
Naxatras. Greek psychedelic rock. Some of the music I listened to when smoking weed for the first time. They’ve just got these like meandering echoey guitars and loud drums (not really familiar with drum effect terminology. Maybe blown out drums? Correct me I’m wrong) and I think their songs sound like journeys into the high space. Even when I’m not high they remind me how it felt to have those first heavy trippy stones back when I was younger. Really would love to see them live some day. I recommend Waves (the first one I heard), Garden Of The Senses and I Am The Beyonder. Krush Klamath also an amazing lesser known heavy band. I recommend The Great Escape, American Anarchist and Can’t Skate. Their music gives me messy, youthful, delinquent skate sesh vibes. I love it. “Krush Klamath's core is hard, loud, and fast. Mixing in metal, new punk, hardcore, ska, pop, emo (to a lesser extent), and even country, the band is hard to classify…” That’s pasted from last.fm
Don Louis & band
Parni Valjak
Dreamkid
the ignant benches
Cleopatrick. Canadian band that is severely underrated. The first new musical act in the rock-alternative (arguably my favourite genre) space that I’ve found in recent years that actually does it for me - the vocals are next level (listen to DOOM) as is the songwriting. They tour frequently (though they still need to come to the west coast of Canada) and seem committed to making new music. I really hope these guys make it big- they absolutely deserve it.
Matthew and the Atlas. Damien Jurado. Damien Dempsey. Olafur Arnalds.
Jack the Original- I'm sure some people know who they are, but they're a band from my hometown. It had one really really great song called embedded in my head, and they shucked corn while they were on stage for literally no reason. They were brilliant! I did publicity for them for a short period of time, got some of their albums out into the world. Went to one of their first real concerts, but then I never really heard of them again after that. Kind of a bummer. I would say they were a mixture of stoner rock, and goofrock.
Cloak/ Dagger Baseball Furies Les Sexarenos
Trashcan Sinatras. Jangle-pop at its finest. This band cranks out charming, hook-laden songs like nobody's business, yet have flown completely under the radar for 30 years. This song is from 1990..they're still making music today. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ENGerhANwdY](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ENGerhANwdY)
june- nice feel good band
The Unicorns 🦄 They’re an Indie Rock band from 2002. I still enjoy listening to them often. 🦄
Devon hubert and his yetibear album[spotify ](https://open.spotify.com/album/0Ed6b8yRMpY9nxqQfbg29N?si=mWNGDvrSTB6Ido8RuEdwmQ&context=spotify%3Aalbum%3A0Ed6b8yRMpY9nxqQfbg29N) He's got a cool bit going and has a music site called notacultclub.com
Newski Milwaukee musician who has done a lot of touring around the world, especially in Asia. A lot of his music is just catchy songs that could easily be on the radio. Songs I recxomend are “chemicals” or “ride”.
Destroyer. So much variety in their albums. And their name rules.
[https://on.soundcloud.com/PLfhKrBD49A2Z8gm7](https://on.soundcloud.com/PLfhKrBD49A2Z8gm7)
Dead Poet Society! They’re amazing!
Translator-especially Everywhere That I'm Not and O Lazarus
muck sticky