You see, this was the era that was my boys formative teenage years, trips to Reading Festival and their earnest efforts to make their own band so I was surrounded by it. Some of it was unfairly judged in my opinion. I’ll start the bidding with Maximo Park, clever lyrics, great frontman with a regional accent delivery, fantastic live performers. Any others?
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Milkybarnick says
I went to see A Hundred Reasons once as part of the NME shows at the Astoria (supporting Ash, I think). My mate and I felt quite old watching them even then (we were 24; most of the crowd was a good 6-8 years younger) but they were cracking live, nonetheless.
mikeyp40 says
Maximo Park are/were waaaaaay smarter than the average landfill indie bear.
Dave Ross says
Agreed, I should have gone with The Wombats 🙂
moseleymoles says
What we are looking for is supporters of some of the following kind of stuff:
Fratellis
Razorlight
Courteneers
Kooks
Ordinary Boys
The View
Pigeon Detectives
Wombats
The Automatic
I can say that none of the above are fit to lace Maximo Park’s boots, who (are) smart, savvy and acers live – saw them last year
come on Afterwords, confess your secret liking for Chelsea Dagger or Let’s Dance To Joy Division now…
Kid Dynamite says
The Enemy?
moseleymoles says
Yes. Any takers? So landfill they come attached with seagulls and a hi-vis vest attached.
Dave Ross says
I saw The Enemy supporting Oasis and Kasabian, they were the second best of the night. Oasis were so awful they weren’t even third….
I’ll accept your Wombats, Pigeons and Automatic. “Monster” is so awful if defies description but it’s ubiquity meant we owned the album and had to endure that noise throughout the house and in the car.
The others all had their moments, yes even Razorlight despite Jonny Borrell and they gave the word Andy Burrows which is a good thing.
Nothing wrong with The Fratellis either, no I can’t stand “Chelsea Dagger” any more but was very happy to have the first two albums on in the car on those long holiday journeys.
Moose the Mooche says
When I saw The Automatic doing Monster on Later, I was put in mind of I Like Bouncing from Not the 9 O’Clock News, to the extent that the two songs have merged in my head.
Moose the Mooche says
Well I’ve been stuck with this song for 36 years, I’m f***ed if I’m going to let you lot get away from it.
PS Excellent subtitles!
Skirky says
I saw The Ordinary Boys support The Streets at Brixton Academy and came back raving about this great band who lay somewhere between The Clash and The Specials. By the time Celebrity Big Brother came on and Mrs. K excitedly announced that ‘Preston’ was on it I genuinely thought she was talking about the rogue robot dogs from Wallace and Gromit.
Still, at least half of those groups provided regular and quite lucrative cover band fare for me and some friends, and I’m more than happy to go along with the theory that Chelsea Dagger is more fun to play than it is to listen to.
seanioio says
They were very appealing when they first surfaced. Some great tunes & I also made the same comparison with the Specials/Clash mix.
Preston did write Heart Skips A Beat by Olly Murs which is a great Pop tune
Bingo Little says
I quite like all of these:
Maximo Park – Acrobat
The Futureheads – Decent Days & Nights
The Courteeners – Acrylic
fentonsteve says
I quite liked Maximo Park and saw them a couple of times. The Futureheads started to go a bit landfill after a couple of albums but then took a swerve and did a (brave but commercial suicide) a capella folk album (I like it, and respect their sense of adventure, but don’t post anything from it unless you want to see frank & forthright opinions expressed). Both ended up feeding into Field Music, who seem to be more AW-friendly.
Dave Ross says
Don’t The Courteeners still have some crazy fanbase that ensures they’re still touring and selling albums?
seanioio says
Aye, they are doing a big outdoors gig in Manchester this summer with Charlatans supporting them.
My view on The Courteeners is that they are either a delight or downright awful! They don’t do anything inbetween. Tracks like ‘Are You In Love With A Notion’ & ‘Not Nineteen Forever’ are great but then others are unlistenable.
moseleymoles says
I’ll offer a liking for the sometimes mega generic stylings of Editors:
Kid Dynamite says
I quite liked Editors when they started. First time I saw them, the singer had a bit of technical trouble with his guitar, took it off, threw it down and kept singing. Second time I saw them, months later on a different continent, he had exactly the same problem at the same point in the same song! What are the odds? Some people are just unlucky, I guess…
monsignorbonehead says
Once I heard them described witheringly as ‘Boy Division’, I never could take them seriously
Freddy Steady says
Boy Division is a great description! I call them The Creditors but no-one ever thinks that’s clever. Oh well.
Harold Holt says
I think you’re in the wrong thread. https://theafterword.co.uk/the-failed-jokes-amnesty/
Friar says
No.
fentonsteve says
I saw them play the local poly on a tip-off from the promoter, when they were called Snowfield. They were great. When they came back as Editors, the rough edges seemed to have been smoothed off. I also saw Hard-Fi there, at the suggestion of the same promoter. They were great, and so was their first album, although heavily influenced by The Clash.
Moose the Mooche says
First Hard-Fi album is great, though a bit like the kind of album Alan Parker Urban Warrior would make.
The Muswell Hillbilly says
That is the finest description of that album that I’ve heard. I still like it but it’s so posed and synthetic that it’s almost comical.
Dave Ross says
A bit earnest and understand the “Boy Division” tag but “An End Has A Start” and “The Back Room” are two albums I’m more than happy to go back to.
Kid Dynamite says
I also really like Maximo Park. They’re one of the best live bands on the circuit now (going to see them again in Cardiff come May). Definitely not landfill indie!
Do The Holloways count? They had a couple of cracking tunes (see the non-hit thread for details). I also quite liked The Dead 60s for a bit.
Rigid Digit says
The Ordinary Boys
That first album was a corker (or certainly was at the time), the second not so great.
Over The Counter Culture – a strange mix of landfill indie, Mod Revival, The Smiths and The Specials
Over The Counter Culture
Friar says
No.
Dave Ross says
You are Preston and I claim my five pounds….
goodfella says
I first heard this on Stuart Maconie’s show on 6Music and went out and bought the CD single, which I still have.
Friar says
No!
goodfella says
No what? Read the original post. This is a song I enjoy. There are no right or wrong answers.
Friar says
Yes there are.
Dave Ross says
No wait, you must be Tim Lovejoy?
Rigid Digit says
The Fratellis had a superb debut, let down by a “bitty” second album (maybe the urgency and surprise was gone by that stage).
Debut album is bloody good though
There was a piece in Q about a year after the debut came out (possibly on the back of their Brit Award) where they were paired up with Roger Daltrey, and the tone of the interview suggested they were the natural successors to The Who.
A brave attempt at creating a legend, but way off the mark
Henrietta
minibreakfast says
Agreed. The Fratellis get slagged a great deal, but that debut gave me an enormous amount of pleasure.
Friar says
No. No no no. I’ll stand for a lot but not this.
There’s a chap on here who does that whole militant 1960s only shtick isn’t there? Everything else is shite? Well I’m like that but with landfill indie. It’s all, all, all crap.
And don’t get me started on Biffy Clyro.
Kid Dynamite says
Q: What’s the only thing worse than a Biffy Clyro album?
A: Two Biffy Clyro albums!
Dave Ross says
Biffy Clyro, where do I start except with I love Biffy Clyro. Seen them live several times now and it’s always a noisy, sweaty, exhilarating experience. Naff? Of course they are but there is something about that sound and the rawness that I really enjoy. If you really can’t find anything on “The Puzzle” to tickle your fancy then fair enough
Friar says
Every single post in this thread so far is incorrect. Maximo Park are the closest to acceptability but they’re only *OK*, aren’t they?
Landfill indie is the absolute best genre name ever. Entirely apposite. It’s all shit. Editors, Coldplay, Keane, Fratellis, Pigeon Detectives, Travis, they’re all entirely beyond the pale. Magnolia wallpaper translated into sound.
Soz. 😉
seanioio says
No 🙂
Moose the Mooche says
How can magnolia be beyond the pale? It is pale.
It just is.
ganglesprocket says
History by Cast is pretty good…
Moose the Mooche says
Drinking draught Guinness directly out of a can? Classy.
Friar says
No it isn’t.
Milkybarnick says
This straddles the line between genius and duff landfill. I rather like it.
Friar says
No.
Friar says
Sorry. I’ll stop now. I’m just havin a bit laff an carry on.
goodfella says
Probably advisable to use smiley faces etc so that people don’t just assume you’re being a dick.
😄
Dave Ross says
@Friar Thanks for your contribution, but you now must listen to this as your punishment, you naughty boy
Friar says
I’ve heard it many times. It’s their best song by a mile and it’s total shit.
Dave Ross says
That’s what I like about you @Friar Normally of these threads about Adele or Coldplay or some such it goes “I’ve never knowingly listened to ………. but I know they’re not my thing”. At least you admit to hearing it before declaring it shit, good man.
Friar says
🙂 Informed vitriol, that’s my game. 😉
Rigid Digit says
Were The Libertines a sort of pre-cursor to landfill indie?
For the sake of my next trick, I’ve decided that they were
Dirty Pretty Things – Bang Bang You’re Dead
Rigid Digit says
Does this one count?
Maybe a bit more poppy, and ELO-esque
The Hoosiers – Goodbye Mr A
Dave Ross says
A Hoosiers album still resides on my iPod and I have a vague recollection of this so ok it counts, Not sure about The Libertines connection up there though…….
Dave Ross says
No mention yet for Franz Ferdinand? Wore their influences firmly on their sleeves but nothing wrong with that.
Moose the Mooche says
I liked the second album miles better than the first*. Paul Morley said on Late review that it was a more cynical record than anything involving Simon Cowell… which is kind of true. I don’t care.
*So very lonely.
Leicester Bangs says
I liked Interpol.
Friar says
I think LI is a purely British phenom, isn’t it? Plenty of decent American guitar bands from that period.
Leicester Bangs says
Ah, they were American? As you were.
Friar says
Paul Banks is English-American but the rest of them are American-American. A Brooklyn band if memory serves.
Friar says
I move that the first LI single is something off The Man Who. I’m going to say Why Does It Always Rain On Me. It’s the moment that Britpop lost any Kinks influence or any edge or interest and just became about soundtracking civil engineers’ commutes to work in Croydon.
Moose the Mooche says
I would go earlier than that and say Embrace.
“Who are your main influences?”
“Oasis… wait, you said “influences” plural… does that mean there are other bands?”
The Muswell Hillbilly says
I absolutely despised Embrace. Although I should thank them for ushering me towards a more varied sonic palate when they lumbered into view with that “All you good, good people” sleeping tablet of a song. The indie kid in me died. And just in time.
Friar says
Embrace are a great shout. Dead right.
hubert rawlinson says
I live in Embrace’s drummer’s old house. Still never heard them. Is that a good move?
Moose the Mooche says
I want to be you.
hubert rawlinson says
Is that because of the house I live in, or because I’ve never heard Embrace?
Moose the Mooche says
Well, I happen to be sitting outside your house, and frankly it could be either.
hubert rawlinson says
Are you the one in the clown costume? Note to self Why did I look out of the window just to check?
Moose the Mooche says
Frightfully sorry, didn’t have time to change out of my work clothes.
Friar says
Imagine a bowl of weetabix that’s been left on the worktop for minimum 12 hours. The milk has been entirely absorbed and what’s in the bowl is now a thick, room-temperature grey slop.
That’s what Embrace sound like.
Bingo Little says
Got to take the opportunity to post this again.
NME, circa 1998:
“Danny McNamara has the world at his feet. A top 20 single, a recent tour supporting Cornershop and now the launch of his band’s debut album.
“I don’t write songs, I write anthems” says the West Yorkshire tunesmith, reclining on a tasteful leather sofa in his PR’s plush Soho office. “I don’t believe in doing anything if I can’t be the best – know what I mean – I’m here to teach the world to sing, man”.
As one of the year’s breakout acts, Embrace are in a position to do just that. The Fireworks EP drew glowing reviews last year, and earned them a cult following. They followed it up with the One Big Family EP, which earned them comparisons to Oasis (a notion immediately dismissed by McNamara – “Oasis are alright, but I want to write songs that really move people, you know?”). Now they’re making final preparations to drop what will unquestionably be one of the year’s biggest albums: The Good Will Out.
“I don’t think of this as a debut record” sniffs the singer, flicking a stray lock of hair from his eyes, “I think of this as the start of a revolution. I’ve got songs on this album that will blow people away, I mean really change lives”.
Friar says
Heroic stuff. Absolute gold.
Moose the Mooche says
Around this time I saw some identikit John Harris lookalike on BBC2 documentary casually saying that his band were going to be bigger than the Beatles. I sniggered, thinking “We won’t be seeing you again, pal”. We didn’t
Kid Dynamite says
Wow, he was spot on there
Dave Ross says
In a way it was a direct result of Britpop. Loads of English pre teen boys inspired by Blur and Oasis in 1996 got mummy to buy them a guitar and off they went. The thing is my boys were equally inspired by Razorlight and The Editors and they had their guitars and their little band. I do find Travis hard work and not a band I considered as IL, they weren’t good enough…
Friar says
Scratch Blur. They never stood still, every Blur record but TGE is significantly different from the last.
LI was purely spawned by Oasis. It was about stodgy “songwriting” obsession, talking about Dylan and the Beatles while missing the point of both, trying to preserve guitar-bass-drums in formaldehyde. Attempting to be worthy and important while just being dull.
It’s interesting that as a movement, 00s indie music has had no influence at all. It killed guitar music for a generation. Where are the bands that it generated? Nowhere. Musical dead end.
What’s the phrase, other opinions are available, but…
Moose the Mooche says
What do they know of Indie who only Indie know?
Dave Ross says
I can help you there, my boys generation who were initially inspired, believe it or not, became the FIFA, Call of Duty and ironically Guitar Hero generation. I remember a parents evening at the height of their computer obsession where the teacher genuinely despaired of the bleary eyed non focussed mess that presented themselves to him in every lesson, that’s ALL the boys and some of the girls. He too played Call Of Duty apparently, don’t know what music he liked……..
Moose the Mooche says
Well, if I had spent my formative years listening to Embrace I think I might have subsequently wanted to spend every night gunning people down.
Rigid Digit says
Can I put a vote in for Snow Patrol.
The Final Straw was a pretty good album, the follow-up OK but hurt by the sheer ubiquity of “Chasing Cars”.
Leicester Bangs says
For two albums Snow Patrol were a properly struggling indie band, and I must say, I rather liked them. The first time I saw them they played to about 10 people at the Highbury Garage, and they were already on their second album, ‘When It’s All Over We Still Have To Clear Up’, which I thought was ace. I was telling everyone I thought they were a criminally overlooked band. I used those actual words.
So I dutifully bought the third album, ‘Final Straw’, liked it, thought it was just as good as the previous one — and then watched as a band that literally only I knew about suddenly went stratospheric. And not only that but became a byword for a kind of soupy indie beige. They were like ‘worse than Coldplay’. At that point, I got off the train.
There’s no moral to this tale. Just a boy-meets-band, band-gets-famous, boy-and-band break-up story.
MC Escher says
I don’t get that. You thought the album was just as good as before but stopped liking them because they were now popular?
Leicester Bangs says
Yep. All that rubbing and the shine eventually came off. Dutifully I sprung for the album after. Whether they had consciously bid for chart gold or I simply imagined they had, I’m not sure but either way, I never got on with it and we parted ways for good. Sniff.
Moose the Mooche says
The best thing about Snow Patrol is saying their name in a Hull accent.
Snerr Patrerrrl.
Rigid Digit says
Cherrsing Ceers
Moose the Mooche says
Paaadon? Are you from Scotchland?
Happybird says
I think some people would put The long pigs in this and possibly Marion but i still like loads of their stuff.
The view same jeans , brill – sadly I know nothing else by them.
I realise Marion were one of the lesser known Britpop minions but they never get mentioned enough.
Friar says
That View song? Are you actually *serious*? It’s only a small step up from She’s So Lovely by Scouting For Girls, which someone on this thread is probably about to defend.
Agree about the Longpigs and Marion though. But they’re not indie landfill era – they’re Britpop era.
Happybird says
know they are Britpop – I just wanted a bit of Britpop to infiltrate this thread.
I would say the views same jeans is a giant ladder above Scouting for girls . ( oops )
That’s just a racket . I don’t know how i even heard the view I think it’s on an a bbc live lounge cd or something
Dave Ross says
The View had one song, were about to make it and the lead singer couldn’t get a visa for a US tour due to a drug offence and that was that, game over.
Scouting For Girls don’t count because of their overwhelming awfulness, I think they were very close to being voted the worst band ever on a poll here, I think Nickleback beat them…..
Anyway, there is a SFG song that would definitely count in the worst ever, I’ll find and post it, wait there………
Found it “Posh Girls”
retropath2 says
What do the absolutely fucking awful Reverend and the Makers count as?
Friar says
Twats.
Kid Dynamite says
I have had dealings with the Reverend in my day job. “Twat” is too generous.
Friar says
I’ve never ever heard anyone with a good word to say about him. Indeed, people go out of their way to say the other words.
Bingo Little says
If you love Andrew W.K say “HA, EAT MY EDIT!”
Kid Dynamite says
HA, EAT MY EDIT!
Kid Dynamite says
Stet!
Kid Dynamite says
Bearded Theory about three years ago…the advertised band pulled out a few days before but we’ve been promised a quality replacement, had t be kept under wraps. MC comes on, talks about how great this band are, they’ve helped out at short notice, aren’t they fantastic etc and then asks us to welcome to the stage….Reverend And The Makers. I was out of that field before he’d got to the …Makers bit.
retropath2 says
And last year, yup, there they were… This year? Yup, admittedly tucked away in the Woodland, but god help us…. Utter filf.
moseleymoles says
I’ve chucked out the second Athlete album – separate thread on that. But have we got to almost 200 comments without the mighty pile of arse that is….Starsailor
Like an Embrace fronted by a singer who can sing. There is no higher praise.
Gatz says
I quite liked the album, and saw them in the pouring rain at The Fleadh (the year Neil Young headlined). Anyway, going through my shelves the other week I discovered that I have 4 Cosmic Rough Riders CDs. There are probably members of the Cosmic Rough Riders who don’t have 4 Cosmic Rough Riders CDs.
Moose the Mooche says
20 years ago Mark Radcliff did a quiz called “We Love Us” which asked members of various bands what songs were on their own records. In most cases they were clueless.
Dave Ross says
I too have some affection for the first Stairsailor album and “Good Souls” was a cracking single
Bartleby says
Hear hear. That and the live DVD that followed. Bunch of arse since, mind.
seanioio says
Noughties landfill indie – my specialist subject.
This was my prime ‘gig going’ years so I have seen pretty much all of the ones mentioned above. A quick look at my gig list (yes I’m that guy!) gives me quite a few that I feel have been missed. To make it easier I will sort into a few lists
Awful;
Electric Soft Parade
The Twang
Get Cape, Wear Cape, Fly
Cold War Kids
Scouting For Girls – ONE OF THE WORST BANDS I HAVE EVER SEEN LIVE!
Excellent (Still listen to then regularly)
Lowgold – Their debut was brilliant
The Zutons
The Dead 60s – Just cancelled a tour! 🙁
Idlewild
The Open – Great first album
Delays
22-20s – The reason I have tinnitus after every gig I see. Excellent live
Doves
I Am Kloot – Hugely underrated IMHO
Bloc Party
We Are Scientists
OK (Nothing special though!)
The Thrills
The Basement
Keane
The Magic Numbers – I was really excited about their debut as loved them live but it was pretty disappointing unfortunately
Hope Of The States
Longview – A decent album but I have not listened to it in years
The Maccabees
The Horrors
Little Man Tate
Haven
Turin Brakes
Electric Soft Parade
The Twang
Get Cape, Wear Cape, Fly
Cold War Kids
Scouting For Girls
Kings Of Leon
The Raveonettes
Vega 4
Simple Kid
The Stands
Thirteen Senses
Hal
Mumm-Ra
The Gossip
Long Blondes
The Cribs
The Whip
Cherryfalls
Honorary mention to Kings Of Leon – How they became mainstream I will never know. Boring boring boring!
Milkybarnick says
The Twang! How could we forget the Twang?
Bingo Little says
Idlewild are probably the band I have seen live most often (six times, which – for me – is a lot). I think they predate Landfill Indie (Hope Is Important was, what, 98?), but I will fight to the death anyone who maligns them. Particularly their early, punky incarnation where they all rolled round the stage screaming and wrote songs like this:
seanioio says
Yep, I concur that putting Idlewild on this list may be an error. They do pre date the OP.
They have done some of my favourite tunes of all time though. Love Steals Us From Loneliness is a stormer!
Moose the Mooche says
I loved the first Hal album, for some reason I’ m not surprised if they weren’t a compelling live act.
Has anybody mentioned the Kaiser Chiefs? I liked them, especially the first album, but there must be plenty of folk that would consign them to the seagull-infested landfill of history.
minibreakfast says
The only album of theirs I’ve kept is Off With Their Heads, which is full of non-annoying top tuneage.
Kid Dynamite says
Electric Soft Parade pop up in awful and okay? I saw them a couple of times and enjoyed it, mostly just for the closing freakout on Silent To The Dark (which they copped out of putting on the record)
seanioio says
They should belong firmly in the awful camp. Not sure why exactly but they always really grated on me when I saw them support.
Kid Dynamite says
LOVE Idlewild, up to and including The Remote Part. Bit patchy thereafter. The future Mrs Dynamite took me to see them in Brighton round about 1999, and they were established then, so like Bingo, I reckon they can be safely counted out of the landfill indie Noughties scene.
retropath2 says
I like ’em, but each time was supporting R.E.M,, which sort of took away their thunder. (So, who do Idlewild sound like, would you say?) Roddy Woomble’s solo folkie stuff is absolutely fabulous, tho’
Friar says
I’d go as far as Love Steals Us From Loneliness (but not the rest of Warnings/Promises). Cracking single.
And I never fail to be thrilled by the bit in A Modern Way Of Letting Go when Roddy rediscovers his dormant spit-n-drool and bellows GOOOOO