The most underrated bands of the 2000s

Perhaps the Canadian indie rock supergroup’s name hindered their ability to rise to prominence to some degree. Or perhaps the bombast, while lush, was too much. However, The New Pornographers are effectively Canadian indie royalty in some ways. The band also gave us solo artists like Neko Case and Dan Bejar, aka Destroyer.

In the time of emo and pop punk, there were some bands that ended up feeling like “also rans.” Some of those bands deserve a little extra love. You may not have thought of The Used since you last heard “Taste of Ink,” but The Used weren’t any lesser than, say, New Found Glory in terms of quality.

When it comes to OK Go, you probably think of the music videos, right? They were the band with the viral music videos and were at the forefront of viral videos full stop — music or otherwise. Well, think about the music attached to those videos. It’s also really good!

Look, in the world of comedy music, there have been few success stories. “Weird Al” Yankovic is the king, now and forever, but Flight of the Conchords are worthy contenders for the throne. They are funny, but they also are good musicians, and that gets overlooked.

In truth, Against Me! started to slide pretty quickly in terms of quality, and the band got a bit pretentious pretty fast. That said, they also released Reinventing Axl Rose in 2002, and it’s one of the…20 best albums of the 2000s? Sometimes, peak matters more than overall output.

The Thermals exploded onto the scene with the lo-fi indie rock classic More Parts Per Million in 2003. After that, the sound got lusher, but The Thermals remained a steady presence. When you release albums with names like F—kin A, maybe you aren’t courting mainstream success (the band was also pretty critical of religion fairly often). That’ll keep you underrated.

At first, Rilo Kiley may have been easy to think of as a novelty, as they were fronted by two former child actors. Well, it turns out they were immensely talented musicians. In time, Rilo Kiley would break up, and Jenny Lewis would rise to acclaim as a solo artist, but she has never quite hit the same highs that Rilo Kiley hit.

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah were part of that indie blog explosion, which came to quickly be derided by some. With a name that is admittedly idiosyncratic, it is easy to perhaps assume Clap Your Hands Say Yeah was not all that good. We respectfully disagree. The music was quite good. The band name is admittedly iffy.

Wolf Parade may have called their debut album Apologies to the Queen Mary based on an incident where they were kicked off the titular boat, but they had nothing to apologize for music-wise. The indie rock band created a killer debut album, even more impressive owing to the bifurcated creative nature of the music. You could always tell a Spencer Krug song from a Dan Boeckner song, but they have always worked well together.

The tragic death of frontman Frightened Rabbit will likely loom over the music of the Scottish indie rock band for a while, but it should not subsume the music. For over a decade, Hutchinson and his bandmates made good music, with Hutchinson often pouring his heart out in the lyrics. Melancholic as they could be, there is a lot of happiness to find in listening to Frightened Rabbit.

Sure, we are giving Silversun Pickups bonus points for being fans of the podcast Comedy Bang! Bang!, but the music deserves some love! “Lazy Eye” is the earworm that stands as the band’s crowning achievement, culturally speaking, but they are no one-hit wonders. They’ve turned out plenty of good music over the years.

After releasing a couple of demos as The Management, the band changed its name to MGMT and released the acclaimed Oracular Spectacular. It put them on the map but left the expectations a little lofty. Maybe Congratulations didn’t quite hit on the same level, but it was quality, and if you haven’t revisited Oracular Spectacular recently, you may be well served to do so.

Obviously, Vampire Weekend isn’t exactly an obscure band. However, this is a list of underrated bands, not obscure bands. Vampire Weekend proved polarizing and then fell from the zeitgeist. In terms of quality bands that got attention and love in the 2000s, Vampire Weekend has an argument for being the best. They released at least three good albums, and their self-titled debut remains top-notch.

A seven-piece Welsh indie pop band with an exclamation point in their name? That released their first two albums in the same year? Yeah, you were probably either all in on Los Campesinos!, or respectfully declined. Their music was super poppy and almost over the top, but it was also often quite catchy.

TV on the Radio could be a little idiosyncratic, but they grew on people. In fact, Dear Science was fairly successful on the charts, though by the middle of the 2000s, that meant less than it used to. Hey, let’s not quibble! Plus, the frontman has even gone on to have a reasonably successful acting career.

Animal Collective is labeled, by some, as an experimental pop group. Indeed, some of Animal Collective’s music is not going to work for everybody. They can be weird and esoteric. On the other hand, Animal Collective has some great songs that should cross over. If you aren't already on the band's wavelength, you might have to dig a bit to find the songs you like, but it is worth trying.

Two-man punk teeming with energy and a DIY ethos, Japandroids garnered a passionate fan base with 2009’s Post-Nothing. It felt like a throwback to the beginning of the decade in some ways, owing to the rise of pop-punk and emo. That may not have been in the zeitgeist, but it was still just as vibrant. The band followed with more of the same with Celebration Rock before getting a little more “serious” with a 2017 return.

While Interpol formed in 1997, they didn’t release their debut album until 2002, at which point they already had a new drummer. Considered at the forefront of a post-punk revival, Interpol released a few strong albums in the 2000s. They deserve to be thought of as more than a band from a moment, and the music remains impressive all these years later.

Much like the days of the Seattle grunge scene, The Walkmen were born from two previous bands disbanded and some members joining forces. Their first album, Everybody Who Pretended to Like Me is Gone, was a fine opening salvo, but their second album featured the single “The Rat,” which is an excellent song. If nothing else, give that song a spin, and get it into your Spotify playlists.

Effectively, P.S. Eliot was a one-and-done effort. No knock on Sadie, but the band’s reputation lives and dies with Introverted Romance in Our Troubled Minds, an iconic work of indie rock. The band split up, but then the Crutchfield sisters went on to great success, Katie performing as Waxahatchee and Allison fronting the band Swearin’.

Before becoming seemingly synonymous with the idea of “I’m 40 and going through a divorce,” The National was another indie rock band trying to get going in the 2000s. It took them a few albums, but eventually, by Alligator, the band hit its groove and was one of the better bands of the decade. The vocals of Matt Berninger definitely can’t really be overrated.

Do you consider the Yeah Yeah Yeahs one of the best indie bands of the 2000s? No? Then you are underrating them. This trio was so good and released a handful of the best songs of the decade. Don’t believe us? Listen to "Maps" again. We think you’ll change your tune.

Sometimes, a band gets defined by a song. Franz Ferdinand, to some, is the “Take Me Out” band. That song overwhelms the rest of the discography. That’s not fair to their reputation or legacy. Franz Ferdinand is not merely that one song, as good as it was. They have a discography filled with solid music.

The British boys of Arctic Monkeys had a snide affect. They were a throwback to the Britpop era, carrying the attitude of bands like Oasis and Blur. However, as time allows us to look past the packaging for Britpop bands and enjoy the music, we can look past all that and dig into the music of the Arctic Monkeys. They earned their spot at the forefront of the British indie revival sonically, even if perhaps they were playing a role to some degree as well.

By being arguably the face of New York City indie in the 2000s, the Meet Me in the Bathroom era, The Strokes were going to be hit with backlash. Plus, well, those guys didn’t necessarily seem like the best hang. They were easy to root against. Now, though, we can set the backlash aside. The Strokes were the face of the era for a reason. Their music was catchy and infectious! The Strokes were not just a look and a mood. They were a really good band.