Looking for something a little different to listen to

December 14, 2007 11:37 AM

Looking for good, guitar-driven new music that rocks, but that's away from the early 80s influenced, quirky indie pop that's been so ubiquitous of late. Can you help?

So, I loved Interpol, the Stills, the Dears, Franz Ferdinand, British Sea Power, TV on the Radio, Arcade Fire and all that, but I'm done with it. Just plain bored. Is there any guitar-driven new music (on iTunes, eMusic, or elsewhere) that has really captured your imagination in the past year, that is cathartic and or just plain rocks? I am just feeling stagnant, and bored with what I've been listening to, and need help moving on.

posted by psmealey to sports, hobbies, & recreation (44 comments total)

When I get to feeling that way I always put in some AC/DC. For something more recent I'd suggest Ted Leo. The boy can definitely rock.
posted by quadog at 11:48 AM on December 14, 2007

Check out Coheed & Cambria. I haven't gotten their brand-new album, but they do rock. Also, Brand New's new album (come to think of it) was pretty good too. Against Me!'s new album is pretty good too, although I prefer some of their older stuff.

And, in terms of guitar bands, you can't ignore Mastodon. And Baroness's new Red Album is pretty freakin sweet metal, soaked in bourbon and southern-rock riffs.
posted by General Malaise at 11:50 AM on December 14, 2007 [1 favorite has favorites]

New music, you say. How about a MetaFilter Approved list of the best new music in 2007. How about 13 lists? Here you go.
posted by shothotbot at 11:50 AM on December 14, 2007

Priestess, High on Fire, The Binges, The Sword, and seconding Mastodon.
posted by pazazygeek at 11:52 AM on December 14, 2007 [1 favorite has favorites]

Circa Survive, Silversun Pickups, Mute Math, Flyleaf, The Starting Line, Anberlin, Angels & Airwaves, Chevelle, Deftones, Thrice.
posted by Brocktoon at 11:56 AM on December 14, 2007

Ooo...right, seconding Ted Leo. He can rock. You'll want to see the newer angry stuff. The older stuff is sort of like what you're trying to avoid, methinks.
posted by General Malaise at 11:57 AM on December 14, 2007

Deerhoof is meatier and more unpredictable than the bands you're bored of. Track 3 'Believe E.S.P.'on the recording Friend Opportunity is a good place to start.
posted by umbú at 12:02 PM on December 14, 2007

The Thermals might do you good. Awesome, rockin' tunes. Guitar, bass, drums and that's about it.
posted by otolith at 12:09 PM on December 14, 2007

Battles - Mirrored (there's a video preview).
posted by togdon at 12:13 PM on December 14, 2007

Death to Our Enemies
posted by atomly at 12:13 PM on December 14, 2007

I'm listening this very moment to Black Rebel Motorcycle Club's most recent record, and it's awesome. Sure, it sounds a bit like Love & Rockets meets J&MC, but it ain't Interpol.

Try Eagles of Death Metal, if you like awesome and guitars. They have both.

The Soundtrack Of Our Lives isn't exactly new, but they seriously rock, and they're Swedish, which gives them bonus points. Also from Sweden, The Cardigans' recent stuff is very guitar-driven and amazing. And the Hellacopters. Basically, everyone from Sweden rules.

The Mooney Suzuki.

Ooh, and The Bronx. Definitely The Bronx
posted by The World Famous at 12:18 PM on December 14, 2007

Look, we can pretend you asked whatever it was you just asked. But I think we can all read between the lines, and we all know that the real question here is: "Greg, will you please YSI me the track 'Ellytres' by the band the band Finntroll?" And the answer to that is: "Sure. Sure I will, psmealey."
posted by Greg Nog at 12:18 PM on December 14, 2007 [2 favorites has favorites]

Spoon.
The Concretes (some of it)
Nada Surf - I had a huge antipathy toward them after hearing Popular. The rest of their catalog is completely different and pretty incredible.
posted by docpops at 12:21 PM on December 14, 2007

How 'bout outside the US? Tankcsapda (x2 lawks! they rawks), Depresszió, Alhana, Nox, oh, and here's newest from Korpiklaani though I imagine you might know them already.
posted by Wolfdog at 12:23 PM on December 14, 2007

Aberdeen City
The Automatic
posted by empath at 12:25 PM on December 14, 2007

Oh, I have to recommend the last Edguy album on this kind of question, too. I have no idea what that video's all about.
posted by Wolfdog at 12:25 PM on December 14, 2007

seconding Spoon, as well.
posted by empath at 12:26 PM on December 14, 2007

Shellac (wiki) is one of those "now for something completely different" kind of rock bands for me. Works when I don't really want to listen to anything. Angry, sarcastic and cynical. "1000 Hurts" is my personal favourite. You can try to hunt down their BBC session from various P2P networks as an introduction as well.
posted by phax at 12:31 PM on December 14, 2007

seconding Spoon, as well.

Spoon is awesome, but not exactly new. I saw them for the first time in 1995, and they had been around a little while at that point.

Some of these other selections are awesome. Also thanks to the person who yousendit'ed me an mp3, that was incredibly thoughtful. Thanks so much!
posted by psmealey at 12:32 PM on December 14, 2007

Away from scenester rock, eh? It's hard to get further away (and stay guitar-driven) then European power metal. Dragonforce is British and a great to start. It's utterly over the top, but for me, that makes it even more delicious.

From there, you can sail to Gamma Ray, Edguy, Helloween, Stratovarius,
Blind Guardian, Elvenking, Nightwish, Skyclad.
posted by Nelsormensch at 12:32 PM on December 14, 2007

Oh damn, Aberdeen City. Great to see someone bigging up a Boston band. I miss that rock scene so much. San Francisco is, sadly, nothing like it. I crave guitars.

In the same vein, I can recommend The Luxury. I will also never get tired of The Damnwells. Their last record is slightly less guitar-driven than their first, but if you can listen to I Am A Leaver, you'll see what I'm getting at. The one band I _have_ found in SF that has some good guitar work is The May Fire. Give 'em a listen.
posted by autojack at 12:33 PM on December 14, 2007

I second The Thermals. Excellent band with sing-along songs. If you like the punk vibe, check out The Bouncing Souls. Other good ones include Still Little Fingers, Lucero, The Sword and The Long Winters.
posted by tundro at 12:37 PM on December 14, 2007

Vaz
posted by The Straightener at 12:55 PM on December 14, 2007

I highly recommend The Mars Volta, 400 Blows and The National. I second The Bronx too.
posted by captaindistracto at 1:05 PM on December 14, 2007

The Heartless Bastards. Great name, rockin' sound, and a female frontwoman.
posted by emd3737 at 1:30 PM on December 14, 2007

I second Ted Leo, and would add The Black Keys.
posted by borkingchikapa at 1:35 PM on December 14, 2007

Maybe a different perspective to what has been posted, but listen and watch in amazement to Rodrigo y Gabriela here and here. Also checkout the related videos on the right.
posted by blister at 1:36 PM on December 14, 2007

American Princes are awesome rock n roll from Little Rock. Some tracks on that MySpace page and also on Seeqpod.
posted by sneakin at 1:37 PM on December 14, 2007

I second The National, they are my absolute favorite band, and have been for several years. But I don't think of them as being very "guitar-driven," so I didn't mention them earlier. They are utterly incredible though. I will say that, for some people, they seem to require 5-10 listens before it "clicks."
posted by autojack at 1:39 PM on December 14, 2007

Go forth and listen to The Hold Steady immediately. Fist-in-the-air rock with sweet lyrics. You do have to get used to finn's voice and delivery, but if it grabs you, you'll love it.
posted by christy at 1:52 PM on December 14, 2007

I'd like to recommend the Wildhearts. There are a couple of tracks from their 2007 release on their myspace page which I've linked to. Check out the song The Hard Way and Bi-Polar Baby. I went down a Wildhearts rabbit-hole of sorts this July and have yet to emerge.
posted by philad at 2:26 PM on December 14, 2007

Ted Leo, The Thermals, and by god YES The Hold Steady.

You might also want to dig into some of the non-Uncle-Tupelo-influenced alt-country, more along the lines of Drive-By Truckers, Slobberbone, Bottlerockets, etc. Not new, but perhaps new to you.
posted by tigerbelly at 2:34 PM on December 14, 2007

Hard Rock, but a bit bluesy:
Clutch
Five Horse Johnson
Backyard Tire Fire

Straight up metal:
The Sword
Mastodon
High on Fire
Evergrey
posted by lilnemo at 2:36 PM on December 14, 2007 [1 favorite has favorites]

And, ohbytheway:

Fu Manchu
Corrosion of Conformity
Spirit Caravan
Alabama Thunderpussy
Sheavy
posted by lilnemo at 2:44 PM on December 14, 2007 [1 favorite has favorites]

SLAYER!

It's definitely not quirky, shoegazing indie rock, and I know at least one that person likes Slayer but also Interpol and Franz Ferdinand.

And if you find that you thrash is as invigorating for you as it is for me, also check out Sepultura, The Haunted, and Municipal Waste. If you feel like something thrashy but more expansive, there's always Metallica and Megadeth.
posted by ignignokt at 3:08 PM on December 14, 2007

Sluts of Trust
posted by Mrs. Buck Turgidson at 3:17 PM on December 14, 2007

One more: Slunt live video here. Not that this has anything to do with it, but the singer is hot and I've met the guitar player and he's a cool MF.
posted by philad at 3:42 PM on December 14, 2007

Steve Hill from Montreal is an unapologetic retro rocker and guitar god. Videos & sample tracks on the site.
posted by canoehead at 7:24 PM on December 14, 2007

Avenged Sevenfold.
posted by C17H19NO3 at 8:11 PM on December 14, 2007

The Black Lips
Seconding the earlier records of Against Me !
Boris
Converge
McLusky and Future of the Left
posted by SageLeVoid at 9:30 PM on December 14, 2007

Seconding Priestess! I have been listening to their album non-stop for a few months now! I haven't heard a lot of the new album yet, but Monster Magnet could work for you.
posted by melissa at 7:01 AM on December 15, 2007

I have to admit I am underwhelmed by some of the suggestions here. Not that my taste is better -- really -- it's just not exciting music to me, doesn't crank my tank.

Here are a few contributions:

Black Dice
Wizardzz
Think About Life
Aids Wolf
Japanther
Miracle Fortress
posted by loiseau at 7:20 AM on December 15, 2007

These are some new favorites that I came across recently. From the bands you listed, we have very similar taste in music. The first 3 are great especially MMJ, the Fratellis are ok but fit the mold and my roommate loves them.

My Morning Jacket

The Walkmen

seconding
The Hold Steady

The Fratellis

If you want to switch things up a little, I can't get enough of

LCD Soundsystem
posted by clearly at 5:01 PM on December 15, 2007

Jackson United (1, 2, 3)
posted by TheSecretDecoderRing at 12:20 AM on December 16, 2007