Aztec Camera　

Aztec Camera was the brainchild of Roddy Frame, a Scottish songwriter and vocalist whose precocious talent -- he was still in his teens when the band cut their acclaimed debut album, {^High Land ..more

Ash　

The musicians in Northern Irish punk-pop trio Ash first played together in 1989, when childhood mates Tim Wheeler and Mark Hamilton received guitars for Christmas and established a metal act ..more

Arctic Monkeys　

By distilling the sounds of Franz Ferdinand, the Clash, the Strokes, and the Libertines into a hybrid of swaggering indie rock and danceable neo-punk, Arctic Monkeys became one of ..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

Wet Leg　

Wolf Alice　

An evocative North London alt-rock outfit led by vocalist Ellie Rowsell, Wolf Alice deftly mixes folk, grunge, and electronic elements with vintage ’90s indie rock. Formed in 2010 by Rowsell ..more

OASIS　

Oasis shot from obscurity to stardom in 1994, becoming one of Britain’s most popular and critically acclaimed bands of the decade in the process. Along with Blur and Suede, they were responsi ..more

Kula Shaker　

By reviving the swirling, guitar-heavy sounds of late-’60s psychedelia and infusing it with George Harrison’s Indian mysticism and spirituality, Kula Shaker became one of the most popular Britis ..more

Coldplay　

After surfacing in 2000 with the breakthrough single Yellow, Coldplay quickly became one of the biggest bands of the new millennium, honing a mix of introspective Brit-pop and anthemic rock that ..more

Godspeed You! Black Emperor　

The instrumental multimedia Montreal group Godspeed You! Black Emperor create extended, repetition-oriented chamber rock. The minimal and patient builds-to-crescendo of the group’s compositions res ..more

Gorillaz　

Conceived as the first virtual hip-hop group, Gorillaz blended the musical talents of Dan The Automator Nakamura, Blur’s Damon Albarn, Cibo Matto’s Miho Hatori, and Tom Tom Clu ..more

The Wedding Present　

Emerging in the wake of the Smiths’ demise as the U.K.’s most successful indie pop band during the late ’80s, the Wedding Present were founded in Leeds, England, in 1985. Formed from the ashes o ..more

The Charlatans (UK)　

For many years, the Charlatans UK were perceived as the also-rans of Madchester, the group that didn’t capture the Zeitgeist like the Stone Roses, or that failed to match the mad genre-bending o ..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

The Stone Roses　

Meshing ’60s-styled guitar pop with an understated ’80s dance beat, the Stone Roses defined the British guitar pop scene of the late ’80s and early ’90s. After their eponymous 1989 debut a ..more

The Smile　

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

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

James　

As one of the first groups to be dubbed the next Smiths, James became an institution on the British alternative music scene during the ’80s and ’90s with their pleasant folk-pop. Early in thei ..more

Johnny Marr