It's Worse Than I Thought

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

Compiling the weekly chart polls it has often struck me that there seems to be a fair bit of indie in the Top 40 right now. To be more specific, British Indie.

And it's true! Below the cut is a list of UK indie bands who had a hit in 2007 and first charted during the last two years. The 2006 cut-off point has meant excluding characters like The Rakes, Biffy Clyro and The Cribs, who all seem to have previous.

CLASS OF 2006:
The Automatic
Get Cape Wear Cape Fly
Guillemots
Larrikin Love
Little Man Tate
Long Blondes
Maccabees
Pigeon Detectives
The Fratellis
The Holloways
The Klaxons
The View

CLASS OF 2007:
Air Traffic
Ben's Brother
Cherry Ghost
Elliot Minor
Enter Shikari
Foals
Gallows
Ghosts
Good Shoes
Hadouken!
Hoosiers
Koopa
Mesh 29
Mumm-Ra
Reverend And The Makers
Scouting For Girls
The Enemy
The Horrors
The Twang
The Wombats
Tiny Dancers

I have a couple of questions. First and foremost is who on earth are these people? I think we can provide a useful service if we turn this post into your cut-out and keep guide to nindie, 07-style. So, if you ACTUALLY KNOW what a band here sounds like or is trying to do could you use the comments box to summarise it in a sentence. Keep abuse to the minimum. Details of gimmicks particularly helpful! I would also like to know who each band are ripping off most (aside from other bands on the list).

That way we can provide an invaluable guide to chart nindie with details for:

SOUNDS LIKE:
GIMMICK:
MOST WANT TO SOUND LIKE:

Which is all you need know about a given band, surely?

Comments

[bengraham.livejournal.com]

Compare to the class of 2004/5: Arctic Monkeys, Bloc Party, Maximo Park, Kasabian, Kaiser Chefs and this lot really stink. There are only about three bands in that entire list that I can conceive of being able to bear listening to for more than about 3 minutes.

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

It's interesting to me that the Cribs and the Rakes both got their start in 05, but obviously were totally unmemorable until this year, when their material actually kind of stands out :(

Kaiser Chiefs are as bad if not worse than anything here mind you.

[martinv.livejournal.com]

Kaiser Chiefs are as bad if not worse than anything here mind you.

Yes.

Just to clarify my position, Ben's list doesn't make me any more happy than the 06/07 ones...

[bengraham.livejournal.com]

That's because my list isn't twee enough for you MV! That lot are all solid bands who've managed to release second albums that in most cases were better than the first. I cannot possibly fathom the possibility that second albums by The View, The Fratellis, The Twang et al will be anything other than MORE OF THE SAME TRIPE.

[martinv.livejournal.com]

In fairness, although I don't like any of them very much, Kaisers/Bloc Party/Maximo Park are definitely a better unholy trinity than View/Fratellis/Twang, no question. I'd rather some better bands were doing well though.

I DON'T JUST LIKE TWEE.