cool bands

ABBA
If u don’t like abba just gtfo. Fav track: SOS

Answering Machines
"The future of music" -Blair. Idk if anybody can REALLY say much about the future of music, but I'm REALLY happy we have this band right now. Powerful and scrappy 60s garage-isms with a perfectly modern low fidelity twee kiss. One of very few bands I've stumbled onto in the youtube trenches and gotten seriously stoked on. Just saw them in Austin and every promise is delievered upon. Young people with a poop ton of passion and keen sense for DIY aesthetics. Amazing band! Fav track: razor burn

Amnesty
Beyond comparison. Naptown royalty. Never got their flowers during their time in the early 70s, but thankfully Kanye shed some light on them. That demo in particular; one of the most soulful and hardest grooving performances ever captured, while completely lacking bass and drums. Completely perfect DI guitar sound. Big highlight for indiana music history. Fav track: liberty (obviously)

Bugg
Real ass shit. So good. Indiana team. Kora really knows how to smack an SG, but that is equally met (if not overshadowed) by hooky, classic, perfect songwriting. The dream of the 90s is alive in Bloomington/LA. Fav track: Bleached (og demo tape version)

The Beatles
Cool band yeah. Lol. Fav track: and your bird can sing

The B45’s
High school teenie bopperz. 2010s Fort Wayne scene yal. Rip. Fav track: is there anyone out there

The B-Sharps
One of the great Fort Wayne B bands. Party rockers. Every member is total fucking godhead in their own unique way. Garagey but poppy and earnest and energetic. Very important. Fav track: count me in

The Byrds
Gods. We owe them our lives. Fav track: The Bells of Rhymney (especially that solo)

The Coneheads
Yea ofc duh. Mark W’s importance in the modern history of indiana music/art/diy/punk/indie culture cannot be understated. It’s wonderful that he’s gotten some flowers while he can still smell them. A real nice guy to boot. Fav track: Smiling Beat Of Life

CCTV
Overall, my favorite under the Mark W umbrella. Bursting with little musical shooting stars and rainbows. Jenn’s delivery is forever iconic and unique. The prank call tape is incredible as u probably know. Paranoia is one of the great generational rock n roll anthems. Life-affirming band. Fav track: Sweet F-er

Chain Gang
The thrill, the mystery, the reckless abandon, they’re perfect. Son of Sam came out before they caught him. One of a kind, all the covers of it are totally weak and tame in comparison. A perfect song that will resonate forever, with a handful of other gems. One day I will see Mondo Manhattan if it kills me. Fav track: son of sam

Chronophage
Probably the best DIY guitar band of the last decade. The intricate arrangements and harmonic interplay of an exciting modern orchestra (but not prog, like the beatles haha) crammed into a 4-piece rock group (my fav lineup 2018 era). Prolog for tomorrow is simply one of my favorite records of all time, I've listened to it endlessly, its perfect. The pacing, production, noisy interludes, pop hooks, inventive playing, it's everything. donnas guitar work is simultaneously astounding and familiar, scratchy and scrappy but precisely intentional, everything I want to hear in a guitar. her more recent solo NYC demos tape is wonderful as well. this writing doesn't do them justice but how could it. I like the review that mentions messthetics and homework go find that one. A band i'll find extremely special till the end of time that happens to be of this time, truly a gift. Fav track: things we do together

Data Unknown
Indy thrill seeking electronic noise rockers. One of the best sets I've ever seen in 2022 when they had the big band with stringed instruments, it was like JAMC reborn and completely on fire, with one of the wildest crowds ever (aided by Scooter's storm of whippet-filled balloons and tiny tambourines). There should be headshots of Brandon and Scooter on the urban dictionary definition for "heads", amazing taste and style. All the tapes are great. A modern institution! Fav track: Step Inside

The Feelies
Gods! VU-core 4ever! Big RIP Anton Fier, the rhythms are still crazy. Fav track: forces at work

Jacky Boy
So sweet, makes my cheeks hurt sometimes. Songs that should fill stadiums. “Weezer-core” but its better than 80% of weezer’s discography. Fav track: Bad

Johnny Skin
Uhmmmmm yep. Fave track: give it up

Living Dream
Psychedelic but not too loose and cumbersome, nonchalant velvets/rainparade/spacemen3 cool while still totally earnest. They should be headlining levitation within a couple years if life is fair and just. One truly excellent homespun tape under their belt and hopefully more to come. Groups like this make you proud to be a Hoosier. Fav track: Do or Die

Matrix
Look at me I’m smoking it! Yes, I am. A perfect Tape and flecks of greatness scattered around it. The dogs. Indiana boys on them indiana nights. Fav track: Windpipe

Nice Try
Bloomington baddie legend makes perfect everly brothers lofi bedroom punk for the forlorn hearts of today. Absolutely essential listening. Fav track: wet willy

Orange Juice
Some of the first tunes to make us really feel seen. the rosy cheeks and jangling out of tune guitars, the driving dance beats, the busy bass, the absurdly sensitive and anti-macho lyrics... they had it all. massively influential on us and a billion others. arguably never maximized their potential and truly tapped in, the early singles "too rough" and the debut LP "too polished", but this only adds to their untouchable legacy. the roots of the tree which we perch on. Fav track: falling and laughing (veeery hard to pick)

The Pastels
glasgow scene queens. another sacred pillar which we're built on. stephens lilting unconventional croon, hard rocking guitars with a sarcastic wink, the LOOK, the slow tempos... totally in their own lane. Inspired countless bands, inspried by countless bands, still totally singular. a joy to chat with stephen at mono once, incredibly humble and kind. Fav track: thank you for being you

Push Pop
Nina is everything and we love it. Verbed out bedroom pop with heart-on-sleeve lyrics that make you want to lay on a roof and star gaze. Melodies that control your brain like Remy the rat. Fav track: Atlanta binches

Rocketship
Shoutout to Nina for this rec, holy crap lois. The zingy futuristic synth sounds of Stereolab, energetic drums and understated boy-girl duo vocals like mbv, and jangling jazz-tinged guitars like the cardigans or ivy, it's a perfect recipe that tastes exactly how it smells. On top of this some long ambient breaks of mesmerizing synth loops, using time and space as powerful ingredients. Hooks for days! Incredible. Fav track: I Love You Like the Way That I Used to Do

Sacred Copy
Cool guitar music by cool guys. Put on ur shades and meet life’s complications with stoic indifference. Aaron writes some otherworldly odd-tuning 90s Ohio type riffs and they should be blasted into your eardrums constantly. Awesome band. Fav track: Marathon

Sobs
Singapore guitar super pop, yas. Unafraid to maximize the potential of classic chords and melodies by shooting them into the carebear kingdom. A band that should rule the world! Fav track: Lucked Out

Subsonic Eye
I wanna sell everything and move to Singapore. Apparently this is where’s it’s happening atm. More shoegaze/alt leaning than Sobs but still melodic and fun. Their latest might be my favorite full record from either project. The aesthetic of these bands is perfect ugh. Fav track: Tender

The Taxidermists
Best guitar+drums 2 piece of all time. Sidesteps every garage rock or indie twee pitfall, sounds like television. Cooper is a truly singular songwriter. Massive discography, massive chunes, massively under appreciated. Fav track: long song

Vacation
Maximum Rock and Roll. In a good way. Relentless and 0% bs. Fav track: Worlds in Motion

Wishy
One of those bands that will either take over the world or be “the best band that never did”. Leader of the pack. Kevin and Nina share a symbiotic musical partnership like very few. Lennon and McCartney, Morrisey and Marr, perhaps. Sunny dream pop with an infectious youthful energy and tru intellectual subtlety. I expect one day some will dissect the interaction of these chords, melodies, and arrangements in a uni class. Slips that medicine in under a saccharine, earnest delivery that could disarm the fiercest cynic. They sound brilliant live to boot, one of few bands today that understand volume. They deserve the world. Fav Track: Persuasion

Youth In Asia
Young ferocious and fresh. They manage to have a very identifiable sound in a lane where it’s very difficult to do so. Vocals like a cat clawing it’s way out of the pits of hell. Dawgs scrapping to the death. Delay pedal taped to the mic stand. Everything u want basically. Fav track: 3