There are some bands who deserved to be more known than they were. Now I’m not talking about one-hit wonders- although some on this list may have been- I’m referring to bands that for whatever reason just didn’t get delivered to the masses like they could have. On the other hand, they end up being little hidden gems that you can one-up your friends with later on on that mixed CD you’re planning as a home-craft Christmas gift for you friends. They’ll make an easy-made CD of the latest Indie Rock while you’ll wow them with vaguely recognizable excellence from the past.
Here’s my list of the Top 5 Should’ve Beens:

1. The Waterboys: Hailing from the U.K. and formed in 1983 by Mike Scott, their mix of Celtic folk music and rock’n'roll was dubbed “The Big Music“. This tag was later applied to Simple Minds, The Alarm, In Tua Nua, Big Country, the Hothouse Flowers and World Party. Their biggest hit this side of the Atlantic was “Fisherman’s Blues” from the 1988 album of the same name- a rollicking, Dylan-meets-Springsteen folk-rock track romantically portraying the workingman.

2. Mike Watt (Firehose, Minutemen): An American bassist/singer/songwriter, Mike Watt is best known for his Minutemen and Firehose projects from the 80s and 90s.
Like other’s on this list Watt never found mainstream success but he did influence others who did and is widely considered a key figure in the development of American alt-rock. The Red Hot Chili Peppers dedicated their breakthrough album Blood Sugar Sex Magic (1991) to him.
Mike tours relentlessly, possibly why he is known to nap up to five minutes before heading on stage. He’s currently on assignment as the bassist for Iggy Pop and the Stooges.

3. Dr. Octagon: Yet another incarnation of the brilliant and deranged underground hip-hop legend Kool Keith. Dr. Octagon is an extraterrestrial, time-traveling surgeon/ orthopedic gynecologist who has sex with his patients/nurses. The 1996 album “Dr. Octagonecologyst” is a prime example of the massively unpopular acid rap and pornocore genres that Kool Keith helped to start.

4. No Means No: The only Canadians to make this list, NMN hail from Victoria/Vancouver, British Columbia and were formed by the Wright brothers in their parent’s basement in 1979. No Means No are credited with being part of the genesis of math rock (Shellac, the Jesus Lizard, Polvo, Don Caballero, Battles, Drive like Jehu, Jawbox, Slint etc). NMN have toured incessantly since their formation and have developed a rabid following in Europe and North America. Their most successful album was 1989’s “Wrong” on Alternative Tentacles Records.

5. Joy Division: They’re probably the most famous band on here but they’re influence on indie rock and post-post whatever blah, blah music is huge while they’re life-span was so small that they deserve the number 5 spot. Plus the Ian Curtis-based movie “Control” is so beautifully shot and acted that if you were never a fan of Joy Division, after watching the movie you very well might be. “Love Will Tear Us Apart“- their biggest hit in America and one of the best song titles ever.

Brooklyn-based indie band The National recently released their latest for Beggars Banquet entitled “Boxer”.
The band was formed in 1999 by Ohio friends Matt Berninger (vocals), Aaron Dessner (guitar, bass, piano), Bryce Dessner (guitar), Bryan Devendorf (drums) and Scott Devendorf (bass, guitar)- former late 90s dot-comers able to finance their first two albums, “The National” and “Sad Songs for Dirty Lovers” on their own Brassland Records label. While these albums garnered them a small indie fan-base, it wasn’t until their 2005 move to Beggars Banquet Records and the subsequent release of “Alligator” that they were able to garner critical acclaim. The LA Times, Insound and Uncut all touted “Alligator” as an Album of The Year.

Now with “Boxer”, The National, led by baritone voiced Matt Berninger, has found an increased fan and peer base. The new album features contributions from Sufjan Stevens as well as Doveman (aka Thomas Bartlett). Their song “Slow Show” from “Boxer” was featured on NBC’s new series, Chuck.
If you like your indie rock swinging from moody and soulful, with a hint of Johnny Cash, to the upbeat and edgy of early Springsteen, then The National are well worth a listen.

To hear some of their songs click here.

I’ll leave you with a video of The National’s television debut performing “Fake Empire” off of “Boxer” on the David Letterman Show this past July.

Collaborative album projects can turn out to resemble a fresh-sounding, cohesively flowing mix CD, or a disasterous hodge-podge of conflicting ideas- depending on who the architect is. Fortunately for the newly released album called “This is a Landslide” from Intramural, on Slowdance Records, Denver Dalley is a fine craftsman. And he’s no stranger to collaborative efforts either. Dalley got his start in Omaha, Nebraska where he formed Desaparecidos with Conor Oberst of Bright Eyes and released one critically-acclaimed album called “Read Music/Speak Spanish” in 2002 on Saddle Creek Records before disbanding in 2003. After the cessation of Desaparecidos, Dalley moved on to the electronic-tinged project called Statistics as well as the aforementioned Intramural- a Nashville-based project also influenced by electronic music.

With Intramural, Dalley and co-producer Sam Shacklock have pushed the collaborative effort to a near-maximum. Ten of the eleven tracks have different singers from a swath of American indie rock bands, including Judah Nagler of The Velvet Teen, John Roderick of the Long Winters, Greg Dulli of the Twilight Singers and Tricia Kanne of Minipop.
Dalley considers the album very much a word-of-mouth recording project (he’s hoping to take it on the road one day but says that it would rely heavily on video installations to represent the vocalists).
“Basically”, he says, “it’s a cross-promotional effort showcasing each band to the others’ fan bases.”
“This is a Landslide” flirts with a dark, romantic pop edgyness, most evident in the vocals (at times distorted) and lush melodies, and is propelled by the muscular, occassionaly frantic undercurrent of electronic beats and programming giving the album a dark, seductive yet sublimating and epic feel.
INTRAMURAL is a music collaboration that refuses to establish roots and remain still.

To hear “This is a Landslide” by Intramural click here.

“The Funeral”
Download link

For some people Band of Horses might well be too known for this Up and Coming section. They have after all appeared on the David Letterman show twice now and have sold over 100,000 copies of their debut album. But I’m betting there are still a few of you out there that need the introduction to this fine, refreshing new-ish band.

So here goes.

Formed in 2004 after disolving previous band, Carissa’s Wierd, Band of Horses caught the attention of SubPop Records when on a small opening-slot tour with Iron and Wine in the Seattle area. SubPop liked, Band of Horses signed.

The band debuted their tender-hearted indie rock sound in March, 2006 with “Everything All The Time“- an album whose churning guitars and reverb-rich, androgynous sounding vocals crept into the subconscious of the bearded, neo-hippie, indie rock hipsters (and their girlfriends) and has not since left. In fact Band of Horses’ sound was so appealing that their word-of-mouth popularity soon drove them into that strange grey area where indie rock and mainstream reside- a sort of purgatory where if a band plays it smart they can reap the benefits of the mainstream without falling prey to all its trappings, thus retaining a fairly loyal indie rock fanbase. Think The Flaming Lips, The Shins or even The Killers.

This is not the only area Band of Horses find commonality with the Flaming Lips or the Shins though. Vocally, chief songwriter and lead vocalist Ben Bridwell, has often been compared to Wayne Coyne of the ‘Lips, James Mercer of the Shins as well as Perry Farrell (in his younger days), Neil Young (also in his way younger days) and My Morning Jacket’s Jim James- all singers who reside in a speacial androgynous realm that appeals to both men and women alike.
In October of 2007, BOH wasted no time in continuing on their debut’s success by releasing their sophomore effort, “Cease To Begin“. For the making of this album the band relocated from Seattle back to their homeland of South Carolina. One might think this would slightly change the mood or tone of the album but to no avail. Perhaps there’s a haunting small town lonliness that is found in equal measure whether you live in the Pacific Northwest or the South.

In an interview with online music magazine “The Line Of Best Fit” Ben Bridwell aptly sums up his band’s influences: “Dead friendships and dead romantic relationships, being back in the South and living near my family, wanting to inflict injury on a neighbor, falling in love and watching people die.”

Check out Band of Horses’ Myspace.

Take a listen to Band Marino while you read:

Band Marino, to me, is like that breath of fresh cold crisp autumn air you take in on a chilly (sweater weather) day in the middle of Fall. They’re that feeling when you’re out at your cottage sitting in your deck chair, watching the leaves turn. Bluntly what I’m trying to say is, these guys are a breath of originality in a time where there is nothing but - pardon my language - shitty, unoriginal bands out there polluting my ears.

I mean, to be honest, these guys musically could have went whatever direction they wanted to, as they are all very talented musicians. Band Marino could have taken the easy road and had raging guitar licks over some hard core screaming (which lyrics would surely be about a sixteen year old girl breaking hearts) and been signed to a label and on Warped Tour for two summers to only be replaced by the exact same sounding band who wore more eyeliner and tighter clothes. Okay, I’m over exaggerating with run on sentences; but you get my point. These guys are talented and they made a really kick ass, diverse album on their own terms and you have to respect that now-a-days.

The guys were nice enough to send me a copy of their album, entitled “The Sea and the Beast” for an album review.

I also had time to get an interview with Band Marino over the wonderful power of email. (Now, I’m not going to lye, I emailed them about this interview back in January of this year. They replied instantly with answers, I just didn’t have the site up and running and ready, so I was unable to post until now.)

Be sure to check out the interview with Band Marino and their album review. Also check out their myspace for other photos and songs.