CUSTOM SCENES AND THE BANDS THAT MADE THEM THE LOST ART OF SILLY BAND NAMES BY BEN COOPER
The late 2000’s and 2010’s are o�en regarded as a dark age for Bri�sh independent rock. Though an intensely profitable �me for the handful of bands that managed to acquire success within the mainstream – with many of these aging bands s�ll headlining fes�vals as I write this – contemporary opinion seems to point towards a stagna�on in the scene at this �me. A dissa�sfac�on amongst cri�cs and consumers alike is evident, with such musical authori�es as the NME coining a damning sobriquet for the scene: “landfill indie.”
While the landfill bands filled stadiums with pointy shoes and pea coats, these groups gave urgency to the grassroots, and carved hidden legacies into city streets and skylines. A decade of indie music could not be less than a landfill… The answer lies in Birmingham, with a band called “Johnny Foreigner.”
And are they really to be blamed? Though there are certainly some diamonds sca�ered about the landfill, it seems indisputable that most of the guitar pop from the myspace epoch was bland, contrived, and just plain forge�able - recycling the same formula relentlessly, each band no more than a copy of a copy of a copy (of a copy). It’s a woefully depressing prospect, especially considering these bands are s�ll headlining today… There was a scene, however, that challenged this – and though all the bands I am about to men�on may have long succumbed to the icy peril of label debauchery and corporate greed, reckless expenditure and forgo�en second albums, I believe each and every one of them could have truly made it had they been graced with the a�en�on their music deserved.
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JOHNNY FOREIGNER
