One of the biggest success stories of 2009 has been the glorious return of lo-fi indie rock. Like a fuzzy, sloppily recorded zombie returning from the 4-track grave, this scrappy subgenre came back into the limelight this year. These dudes and ladies might sound like they recorded their albums in a basement with a microphone wrapped in burlap (because maybe they did), but with music this catchy, who cares about polished production?
Dum Dum Girls
The brain trust over at Sub Pop records was smart to snatch up the Dum Dum Girls earlier this year. Described as a cross between the Ramones and the Ronettes, the DDG's share the same 50' pop fascination as many of their counterparts, but few other indie upstarts have as much panache as Dum Dum frontwoman Dee Dee. A full length album is on the way.
Best Coast
Perhaps the best and brightest in the new wave of lo-fi, Best Coast–the LA based duo of Bethany Cosentino and Bobb Bruno–sounds like classic 50s doo-wop delivered with the appropriate amount of angry-girl snarl. The band's finest offering thus far is a recent 4-song 7" single featuring standout tracks "Make you Mine" and "Over The Ocean," released via brand new NYC label Group Tightener.
Vivian Girls
Girl group harmonies applied generously over high-speed garage rock by almost unbearably charming ladies who look as if they learned how to play their instruments about three days ago. Still, what they lack in finesse, they more than make up for in spunk. The band's sophomore effort, 2009's Everything Goes Wrong, is best experienced loudly while dancing around the office, even though it sounds like it might have been recorded in a big, echo-filled barn.
Wavves
Everyone, including this magazine, was hot on the trail of Wavves this year. The twosome, led by baby-faced guitar slinger Nathan Williams, played basically every festival, every venue, and every house party on planet earth at some point in 2009. There is a layer of audio fuzz so thick over Wavves' tracks so thick you'd need a switchblade to cut through it, but underneath all that feedback lies a teenage heart of gold, as evidenced by songs like "So Bored."
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