Bands and artists who just don’t quite hit the big time, its our bread and butter. Their dreams are ours, when they hang up the guitars, a little part of us dies.
That is, until we realise, we’re going to keep on fighting their corner. So, here are 5 bands we hopelessly fell in love with during the last decade who didn’t (or haven’t yet) hit the big time.
The Crookes
Sheffield sweethearts The Crookes a band of great poetry and adventure, they were always better read than you but inspired us to follow in their romantic footsteps.
All four albums, and their EP ‘Dreams of Another Day’ were littered with American road trip escapism and Richard Hawley romanticism. They peaked with the album ‘Soapbox’, a stonewall classic that never was!
In a decade where Morrissey increasingly soured the teenage memories of The Smiths, the world should have turned to The Crookes. It’s easy to see why Lammo picked them for his 25 at 25 radio feature.
Theatre Royal
Medway’s Theatre Royal, the only band here to be still be going, are, pound for pound, the greatest pop band in the world right now.
With the sun drenched majesty of The Go-Betweens firmly in their hearts, they released four albums this decade. Whether it’s the spritely numbers ‘The Story of My Life’ or the downbeat affairs like ‘Standing in the Land’, everything they make is single worthy.
Pop hook after pop hook their recent singles collection could have been 50 deep. #
Stay tuned for a new album this year.
The Heartbreaks
Morceambe’s The Heartbreaks were the feral pop to The Crooke’s masterful pop adventure. No less in quality, they had rock n roll’s desperation permeating their journey.
It was an exhilarating two album ride, featuring a duet with Edwyn Collins and singles out on the impeccable Fierce Panda. Their devil meets mainstream guitar pop style, championed by Lammo, should have been bellowed out in the UK’s academies y drunken crowds!
Bo Ningen
All hail Marc Riley’s incredible 7pm slot on BBC6 for bringing Bo Ningen into our lives. The Japanese outfit, based in London provided some of these decades truly death defying psychedelic moments of rock music.
We will never forget their show at Dingwalls in 2013. A mind blowing set of psyche, noise rock and punk!
Standard Fare (& Emma Kupa)
Sheffield’s Standard Fare and, latterly the solo project of singer Emma Kupa redefined what indie-pop could be this past decade.
For so long, it was the cute and wry genre. When Kupa’s unique vocals burst on to the scene, it became dangerous, fragile, and intriguing. Yes, the cuteness remained, but it was the shot in the arm it needed after end of the 00s trashed it with Scouting for Girls and Hoosiers.