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Genre guide

Alternative and indie.
The sound of the outsiders.

Alternative and indie music grew out of the underground rock scenes of the 1980s, defined less by a single sound than by a shared refusal to chase the mainstream. From the jangle of college radio and the rise of independent labels to the breakthrough of bands like R.E.M., Pixies, and Radiohead, alternative became the dominant rock language of the 1990s - and indie carried its do-it-yourself spirit into a new century. Today the style spans dream pop, lo-fi, post-punk revival, and bedroom recordings, united by personality, experimentation, and a certain restless independence.

Browse featured Alt / Indie artists

From the genre's founders to the names still being discovered.

Alt / Indie articles
5 days ago
American Football's LP4 Is the Middle-Age Record Emo Has Been Waiting For
American Football's LP4, released May 1st on Polyvinyl, is the Champaign quartet's most emotionally unflinching record yet — co-produced by Sonny DiPerri and the band, recorded in Stinson Beach, and featuring guest turns from Turnstile's Brendan Yates, Rainer Maria's Caithlin De Marrais, and shoegaze artist Wisp.
6 days ago
Kevin Morby and Aaron Dessner Went to the Badlands and Came Back With Something Quietly Enormous
Kevin Morby's eighth album “Little Wide Open,” produced by Aaron Dessner at Long Pond Studio, closes a Midwest trilogy with a guest-stacked but song-first record featuring Justin Vernon, Lucinda Williams, and Katie Gavin — and it's Morby's most personal work yet. Three singles preceded release, and an accompanying essay by novelist Rachel Kushner frames the album's central shift: from nostalgia to acceptance.
6 days ago
Snail Mail Grew Up. ‘Ricochet’ Is the Proof.
Snail Mail’s ‘Ricochet,’ released March 27 on Matador Records, marks Lindsey Jordan’s return after five years, vocal surgery before the ‘Valentine’ tour, and a cross-country move — and it’s the most sonically and lyrically ambitious record she’s made.