Ant Long

Echo and the Bunnymen are one of the UK’s most cherished indie bands. Combining post-punk guitars, new wave romanticism and

After Kurt Cobain’s untimely death, heartbroken grunge fans needed a new hero. Enter Rivers Cuomo, the bespectacled loner whose band Weezer arrived a month later to fill the void with distortion-heavy, melodic guitar rock. Here’s our pick of their best tracks

From lo-fi, self-recorded CDs to masterfully produced, country-soaked guitar records, Kurt Vile has strolled his own meandering route towards the table of great American songwriters. We’re zoning out and honing in on a dozen picks from the master of folk-infused psych-pop

Capturing the fiery angst of teenage life, Violent Femmes write raucous rebel songs for the alienated, bashing out snotty, angry tales of love and lust. We’re unpacking the best picks from Milwaukee’s proudest antiheroes

Sufjan Stevens combines stripped-back, intimate guitar folk with grandiose, flamboyant storytelling and theatrical stage shows. Check out 12 of his majestic best

Built around Thom Yorke’s introspective, moody songwriting, genre-defining alt-rock band Radiohead have pushed the musical envelope over their remarkable career. Here we look at 12 of their finest compositions

Fronted by the charismatic Stephen Malkmus, Pavement are the champions of an indie-rock movement that emerged in ‘90s America and won the hearts of slackers everywhere. They effortlessly walked a tightrope between loose, shambolic guitar noise and country-tinged pop. We’ve picked 10 songs from their seminal discography

Merging synths with their post-punk roots to create pensive, poppy electronica, we take a closer look at some of New Order’s best songs

For 30 years, Sonic Youth were the champions of experimental rock music. Hailing from New York City, they flouted the rules of what it meant to be in a band, blazing a new trail on the back of the ‘70s punk explosion. Check out 12 jams from a catalog that birthed a thousand wannabees

Led by the prolific Isaac Brock, Modest Mouse have carved out a reputation as one of indie rock’s most reliable outfits, delivering a genre-bending fusion of folk, punk-pop, psyche and everything in between. We’ve put together a dozen of their best