Music for power pop fans?

October 27, 2005 1:55 PM

I like Maximo Park and Franz Ferdinand. What other recent groups would I like?

I know this is a vague question, but I'm really just trying to get a list of bands in this genre so that I can start listening to some more stuff. After growing bored with radio several years ago, any contact with new bands/music has been limited to recommendations from friends or whatever is playing in the local coffeeshop.

Past bands I've liked a lot (and still listen to) include U2, Simple Minds, Wire, Split Enz, Echo and the Bunnymen, Blur, Radiohead.

Thanks, fellow MeFites!

posted by luneray to Media & Arts (41 answers total)

Futureheads, most definitely.
posted by flod at 2:00 PM on October 27, 2005

Bloc Party, Art Brut, Kaiser Chiefs, The Futureheads, The Rapture.

They all sound the same to me.
posted by nylon at 2:01 PM on October 27, 2005

Try perhaps Modest Mouse, Le Tigre and The Strokes. I'm not that into indie bands but those are the ones I like. The Strokes are the weakest out of all those. For some reason I got into the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and I'm not that into punk, they are more art-punk and less pure hate. I think they open up for The Strokes.
posted by geoff. at 2:03 PM on October 27, 2005

The Killers, Maybe Gorillaz
posted by arcticwoman at 2:03 PM on October 27, 2005

Hard-Fi, The Go! Team, The Magic Numbers (to complete the list of Mercury-nominated bands ;)
posted by speranza at 2:05 PM on October 27, 2005

Bloc Party
The Magic Numbers (a little bit country, a little bit rock and roll)
The Arctic Monkeys

On preview: Nylon, do you really think The Rapture sound like The Futureheads?
posted by oh pollo! at 2:06 PM on October 27, 2005

The Bravery, Supersystem, The Arctic Monkeys, Mobius Band, The Oranges Band?
posted by jenovus at 2:08 PM on October 27, 2005

You'll like Editors.

Also, try listening to WOXY, they play lots of bands in this vein.
posted by Heminator at 2:10 PM on October 27, 2005

If you live in the US (and thus don't already know to), look at the NME website. They are a british magazine who are responsible for much of the success of those bands, and most of those listed in this thread. (If by "responsible" I mean "hurrayed and ballyhoo'ed until people went to all their gigs and played them on the radio".)
posted by Marquis at 2:22 PM on October 27, 2005

Go to Pandora and find out.
posted by megatherium at 2:25 PM on October 27, 2005

Oh yeah, and after having seen your insidey bit - Wilderness (self titled LP on Jagjaguwar earlier this year) who sound very much like PIL versus Echo & the Bunnymen. I imagine you'll also like Clor.

oh pollo!: from what I've heard, yes. It's hardly like comparing Freddie & The Dreamers to Fushitsusha, is it?
posted by nylon at 2:26 PM on October 27, 2005

The New Pornographers! Best power-pop band around right now.
posted by 88robots at 2:28 PM on October 27, 2005

Damn. 88robots stole my answer. I would also look into OK Go.
posted by jodic at 2:32 PM on October 27, 2005

I'll second clor - excellent live as well. The National also.

Nylon: No, but then he asked about power pop.
posted by oh pollo! at 2:38 PM on October 27, 2005

I kinda like Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, but I didn't realize they're about 2 years old (which is elderly in moden music terms!)
posted by sian at 2:48 PM on October 27, 2005

The Bravery?
posted by BlzOfGlry at 2:50 PM on October 27, 2005

The Arcade Fire and BOAT.

BOAT is endearingly DIY pop.
posted by tkchrist at 3:03 PM on October 27, 2005

bloc party, ted leo, the new broken social scene cd, interpol, clap your hands and say meh yeah, fountains of wayne, the killers and maybe the postal service.
posted by youcancallmeal at 3:04 PM on October 27, 2005

I second a lot of the above suggestions, especially Futureheads and Bloc Party.

If you like that stuff, though (and given some of the other stuff you say you like), I strongly suggest you check out some of the bands who've had such a big influence on them -- in particular Wire (Pink Flag is one of the greatest records of all time), the Jam, Gang of Four, and the Undertones. (Bloc Party, for example, sounds to me like a very precise cross between the Jam, c. 1980, and Blur, c. 1995.)
posted by scody at 3:06 PM on October 27, 2005

d'oh! I just saw now that you mentioned Wire already with the other bands you like -- sorry for the redundancy. I was just so happy to see Split Enz in your list that I missed Wire! Given that you like Split Enz, then, you may want to check out the Swingers (Phil Judd's band after he left the Enz), not to mention various Tim and/or Neil Finn-related musical outings.
posted by scody at 3:09 PM on October 27, 2005

Oh, and back to new bands: check out the Redwalls! And Hot Hot Heat, too.
posted by scody at 3:11 PM on October 27, 2005

Bloc Party and Death from Above 1979
posted by ascullion at 3:32 PM on October 27, 2005

Probably most better bets are listed above, but a few more names to consider: Rilo Kiley, The Postal Service, LCD Soundsystem, and really, haven't you tried the White Stripes? Broken Social Scene, btw, is a supergroup for members of a number of bands in the pop-rock mold including stars, Metric, and Feist. Oh, and Barenaked Ladies and Weezer, but you may have heard of those and already formed opinions. Oh, and did you ever get into Pulp? You probably should have.

Also, an obligatory plug for Last.FM, which lets you either use Audioscrobbler to have your computer-played music uploaded, thus forming a personal musical profile, or play their radio stations, based on artist similarity and group or individual profiles. It's a great way to fill in the blanks. For instance, the Maximo Park group seems to like most of the bands already listed in this thread.

Pandora is also neat, but I have had more effective results over time with Last.FM. Somehow I think measuring aggregate human responses to music is better than measuring quasi-objective technical qualities. There are plenty of other places to explore "similar artists", of course, including gnoosic.
posted by dhartung at 3:33 PM on October 27, 2005

Thanks for all your tips everyone. I look forward to listening to lots of new (to me) music!

Given my absolute lack of the current music scene, perhaps I shouldn't have used the term "power pop". I'd heard FF and MP described thusly, so I used the term without knowing what other bands were so described.

Also, "current" in my mind is anything released since 2000.
posted by luneray at 3:35 PM on October 27, 2005

Oh, the reason I wanted band names and not websites is because I usually listen to music at work, and I can't stream. CDs are ok, though.
posted by luneray at 3:38 PM on October 27, 2005

Neutral Milk Hotel.
posted by ludwig_van at 3:47 PM on October 27, 2005

Barenaked Ladies are a good idea if you ignore the last two albums. Just sayin'. Also: Guster and Moxy Fruvous for a bit more pop than power.
posted by youcancallmeal at 3:51 PM on October 27, 2005

The Dead 60s

I'm a big FF fan as well. I don't know if you'd like them, but I enjoy Sleater-Kinney even more - they're more punk or garage though.

And I'll second dhartung's plug for last.fm / Audioscrobbler, even just for the personalized charts and stats. (Wow... I've listened to Franz a lot)
posted by chuma at 3:52 PM on October 27, 2005

D'oh, I totally forgot about Guster!
posted by chuma at 3:52 PM on October 27, 2005

Wow, a lot of these bands sound absolutely nothing like that you've posted. More to the point...

Franz Ferdinand is definitely stealing their moves from late 70's, early 80's post-punk. Gang of Four is one example of that, but they're a bit funkier. What you really would dig is Josef K, a band they might be plagiarizing the more than most others.

Ted Leo & the Pharmacists have been releasing albums since Sept. 2000 or so, so they're a bit older than 2 years. Ted Leo's previous band, Chisel, was active ~10 years ago, and has a bit of the same vibe to it.
posted by hototogisu at 4:22 PM on October 27, 2005

That is some awful grammar on my part, and I apologize. I think you get the gist though.

Also, don't actually read NME unless you bring an entire box of kosher salt with you...
posted by hototogisu at 4:33 PM on October 27, 2005

Futureheads (opened for FF), Everyones, Bloc Party, Editors (if you like Interpol), Hard-Fi, Sons and Daughters (opened for FF), The Oranges (opened for FF), Kasabian, Kaiser Chiefs, VHS or Beta, Youth Group, Bravery and maybe the Delays

Some maybes: Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Clor, LCD Soundsystem, The Dead 60's (tho their album also has some reggae-inspired tracks)
posted by missed at 4:38 PM on October 27, 2005

In addition to the above excellent recommendations, I'd say you might like the Von Bondies ("C'mon c'mon" is the perfect indie single), the Walkmen, the Ordinary Boys, the 22-20s and/or the Duke Spirit.

If you think you might like some bleepy weirdness I definitely suggest The Shortwave Set (album is "Debt Collection").

BTW, I saw Maximo Park and the Kaiser Chiefs (who opened for FF last year) last night at the Brixton Academy - top stuff. I'd not seen Maximo live before but they were damn good and were loving it too.
posted by patricio at 6:51 PM on October 27, 2005

controller.controller is one group I haven't seen mentioned yet, and I'll throw in another vote for Metric.
posted by Guy Smiley at 8:00 PM on October 27, 2005

remy zero
posted by any major dude at 8:56 PM on October 27, 2005

Wolf Parade (kind of...)
posted by Quartermass at 8:56 PM on October 27, 2005

Stellastarr!!!
posted by RoseovSharon at 9:18 PM on October 27, 2005

Another vote for the Futureheads. Plus try the Rakes, the Departure, the Editors on the slightly heavier side. If it's the poppier side of FF that attracts you, you might like Moloko, or check out a relatively new band called Clor.

Also, sign up to Last.FM and be guided by the similar artists function there, I have found loads of interesting artists there who I'd never come across before.
posted by greycap at 12:15 AM on October 28, 2005

For new bands that are going to big who are like the ones above, have a look at www.ruffstar.com

its my mate's site and i do a bit of work for them
posted by jwhittlestone at 5:21 AM on October 28, 2005

Valeze (New York)
Manda and the Marbles (Columbus)
The Trucker Hat Banjo 5 (Bestoria)
Feist (Not power pop in the least, but a lot of fun)
Goldenhorse (New Zealand)
The Halo Friendlies (Southern California)
posted by Captaintripps at 7:24 AM on October 28, 2005

Check out Brendan Benson - he's not as retro as Franz Ferdinand, but it's clever, catchy pop that's worth a listen.
posted by egilmore at 1:17 PM on October 28, 2005