The White Stripes　

The White Stripes formed on Bastille Day in 1997, aiming to create simple, vigorous rock ＆ roll with little more than Meg White’s percussion and Jack White’s guitar-and-vocal attack. Meg ..more

Weezer　

As one of the most popular groups to emerge in the post-grunge alternative rock aftermath, Weezer received equal amounts of criticism and praise for their hook-heavy guitar pop. Drawing from the he ..more

Waxahatchee　

Named after the lake not far from her parents’ house in Alabama, Waxahatchee is the name of D.I.Y. songwriter Katie Crutchfield’s band, which began in 2011 as a solo project, appearing first in ..more

Vampire Weekend　

Mixing preppy, well-read indie rock with joyful, Afro-pop-inspired melodies and rhythms, Vampire Weekend grew from one of the first bands to be championed by music bloggers into a Grammy Award-winn ..more

The Vaccines　

Travis　

Along with Cast, Ocean Colour Scene, Kula Shaker, and Embrace, Travis were one of the most prominent British trad rock bands in the mid- to late ’90s. Following Oasis’ lead of crafti ..more

Trashcan Sinatras　

Scottish indie pop stalwarts the Trash Can Sinatras were founded outside of Glasgow in 1987 by singer/guitarist Frank Reader (the brother of ex-Fairground Attraction singer Eddi Reader), g ..more

Teenage Fanclub　

After first gaining acclaim for a dense, melodic sound that anticipated the coming emergence of grunge, Scotland’s Teenage Fanclub spent the remainder of their career as torch bearers for the power ..more

Sufjan Stevens　

SUEDE　

Suede kick-started the Brit pop revolution of the ’90s, bringing English indie pop/rock music away from the swirling layers of shoegazing and dance-pop fusions of Madchester, and reinstating such c ..more

The Strokes　

Equally inspired by classic tunesmiths like Buddy Holly and John Lennon and the street-smart attitude and angular riffs of fellow New Yorkers Television and the Velvet Underground, the S ..more

Stereolab　

Combining an inclination for melodic ’60s pop with an art rock aesthetic borrowed from Krautrock bands like Faust and Neu!, Stereolab were one of the most influential alternative ban ..more

The Snuts　

The Smiths　

The Smiths were the definitive British indie rock band of the ’80s, marking the end of synth-driven new wave and the beginning of the guitar rock that dominated English rock into the ’9 ..more

The Smile　

Slowdive　

Commonly identified as shoegaze, Slowdive nonetheless exhibited a broader set of inspirations -- one that spanned four decades, including folk-rock, dub, and ambient techno -- than the majority of ..more

Sigur Ros　

Named in part after a sister of one of the bandmembers, Reykjavik, Iceland’s Sigur Ros (Victory Rose) was formed by guitarist and vocalist Jon Por Birgisson (who later went by the name Jonsi) ..more

Sarah Jarosz　

Singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist (mandolin, clawhammer banjo, and guitar) Sarah Jarosz was seemingly born a musician -- she was already a virtuoso on mandolin by the time she was ten. ..more

Ride　

With their first records, Ride created a unique Wall of Sound that relied on massive, trembling distortion in the vein of My Bloody Valentine but with a simpler, more direct melodic approach. Th ..more

Real Estate　

New Jersey’s Real Estate stake their claim to a warm, hazy style of indie rock with breezy melodies. The band was formed in Ridgewood by lead singer/guitarist Martin Courtney (Predator Vision ..more