THE 2000S WAS a landmark decade for indie music, producing acts that are still huge today – Arctic Monkeys, Arcade Fire, and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, to name but a few.
But it also lead to the scourge of ‘landfill indie’ as the decade wore on. Fancy a trip down Indie Memory Lane? You got it.
25. Hard-Fi
Indie for the ladsladslads. The kind of thing you’d find yourself singing along to on the radio, then recoil and go “Ew. Why am I singing along to Hard-Fi.”
24. The Automatic
If football chants gave royalties, The Automatic would be millionaires. What’s that coming over the hill? Oh, it’s another flash-in-the-pan indie band.
23. Scouting For Girls
Ev-ery. So-ng. Go-oes. Li-ike. Thi-is. God, I’m aggravated just thinking about Scouting For Girls.
22. Jet
Bang of ‘random Playstation 2 sports game music’ off Jet. ‘Tis all they were good for.
21. The Fratellis
As a petite woman, I know when Chelsea Dagger comes on it is time to leave the dancefloor lest I want to spend three uncomfortable minutes wedged under a lad’s sweaty armpit. For that, Fratellis, I can never forgive you.
20. The Ordinary Boys
The actual band took a backseat to frontman Preston’s antics on Celebrity Big Brother and later, Never Mind The Buzzcocks. Which was a good tactic on his part, because they were crap.
19. The Bravery
An Honest Mistake is OK for what it is, which is a blatant attempt by a record label at emulating the success of The Killers. No thanks.
18. The View
The View had one song. And that one song is grand, and then it turns into Brimful of Asha. Future generations will not look at Same Jeans as a masterpiece of composition.
17. The Coral
We’ve all happily hollered along to Dreaming Of You in Whelan’s or wherever else, but how many people would actually say they’re a fan of The Coral? Exactly.
16. The Pigeon Detectives
That name, man. I’ll probably never get past it.
15. The Vines
Another band that just call to mind video games. This time, car video games. Get Free is still fine?
14. The Ting Tings
That’s Not My Name was lead singer Katie White ranting about her frustrations with being a woman in the music industry, which is fair – but Jesus, if I ever hear it again I’ll scream.
And the guy Ting Ting, what was his deal? He always wore sunglasses. What was he hiding?
13. The Wombats
“Carrots help us see much better in the dark/ Don’t talk to girls, they’ll break your heart.” Just an example of a Wombats lyric for you.
12. The Kooks
Naive was genuinely great! But everything after that was just… eh. Their second album was called Konk, which is quite fitting, in retrospect.
11. Razorlight
Ah, Johnny Borrell. He as a character is unforgettable, but the music of Razorlight? Zzzz.
10. The Cribs
Just because there is still some joy to be obtained from hearing Ryan Jarman howl “MEEEEEEEEEEEN’S NEEEEEEDS! MEEEEEEEN’S NEEEEEEDS!”
9. The Revs
Three lads from Donegal who made sprightly tunes about manic pixie dream girls and Louis Walsh. Bet you just said “Ah The REVS!” didn’t you?
8. Be Your Own Pet
Be Your Own Pet were probably not as well known as some of the bands in this list, but they were bags more fun than most of them. The perfect soundtrack to being a brat.
7. Maximo Park
These guys always seemed to be for people who were like, into ART and LITERATURE. They wore suits and hats! They had an umlaut in their name!
But wasn’t this good? And this an ideal ‘something to make me even sadder’ breakup song?
6. The Futureheads
I am not too proud to admit that I almost lost my mind when this Hounds of Love cover came on in a pub recently. A work of art, and enough to cement them on the latter half of this list.
5. The Hives
Where would the world of sporting montages be without The Hives?
HATE TO SAY I TOLD YOU SOOOOOO… *goal is scored*
…ALRIGHT! *Robbie Keane does a cartwheel, crowd goes wild*
In all fairness though, they were responsible for some tunes. And so stylish!
4. The Maccabees
I would like to point out that the members of The Maccabees are called things like Orlando, Hugo, Felix, and Rupert. Make of that what you will.
How and ever, their gentle lovesongs were the ideal accompaniment to burgeoning teenage romances. So thanks for that, lads.
3. Klaxons
Nu-rave may not have aged well as a scene, but Myths of the New Future still holds up, surprisingly. Go on! Listen to it! And try not to dance. Just try.
2. The Gossip
Will happily stomp and screech along to Standing In The Way Of Control for the rest of my life. Beth Ditto was and remains a goddess.
1. The Thrills
Oh, The Thrills! How did five lads from grey, rainy Dublin make songs so evocative of sunny California? Put on Don’t Steal Our Sun there and pretend you’re in The OC. Treat yourself.
