Somewhere down the line, guitar music lost its teeth. During the late Nineties and early Noughties, the image of the six-string became synonymous with bands such as Razorlight, The Fratellis and The Kooks in an era now dubbed “indie landfill”. Although these bands all achieved a level of commercial success, they predominantly consisted of nice, well-trimmed indie boys who never had anything particularly interesting to say, both on and off the stage.
The tradition of outspoken, politically minded musicians has been somewhat passed over to rap and hip hop, embodied by artists such Kendrick Lamar, Stormzy and Joey Bada$$. All the while rock ‘n’ roll staggered and swayed, directionless and empty of vigour, until Alex Turner destroyed what was left of its credibility with his infamous speech at the Brits awards in 2014.
It now seems however, that the rise of the DIY music scene in Britain colliding with Brexit and Donald Trump has resulted in guitar bands being gifted a new lease of life. Bands such as Shame and Idles were among the first to spear their way into the public consciousness, doing so with twisted guitars and angry, politically laden lyrics. In their wake have followed a whole host of groups who are finally saying something worthwhile, rather than singing blithely about wearing the same jeans for four consecutive days.
Whether it’s Fontaines DC, who confront issues such as a growing sense of nationalism and isolation in Ireland, or the Brighton-based band Squid – who dodge genre constrictions like Keanu Reeves would a bullet – there’s something exciting happening in the UK band scene right now.
Click through the gallery to see our 15 bands you should follow in 2020:
