The Best Indie Rock Bands of the 2010s

Indie rock was on the rise in the 2010s, with a new crop of bands taking the genre in exciting new directions. Here are our picks for the best indie rock bands of the decade.

Best Indie Rock Bands of the 2010s

The 2010s were a great decade for indie rock music. So many new and exciting bands emerged during this time, and there was a real sense of creativity and experimentation in the air. In this list, we’ll be taking a look at some of the best indie rock bands of the 2010s.

Arcade Fire

Arcade Fire is a Canadian indie rock band founded in Montreal, Quebec in 2001. The band consists of Win Butler, Régine Chassagne, Richard Reed Parry, William Butler, Tim Kingsbury, Jeremy Gara, and Matt Bauder. The band’s “Reflektor” album was named Album of the Year at the 2014 Grammy Awards.

The National

The National is an American indie rock band from Cincinnati, Ohio, formed in 1999. The band consists of Matt Berninger (vocals), Aaron Dessner (guitar, keyboards), Bryce Dessner (guitar, keyboards), Scott Devendorf (bass) and Bryan Devendorf (drums).

The National has released eight studio albums, four of which have been nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album. Their debut album, The National (2001), was nominated for the award. Boxer (2007) and High Violet (2010) were also nominated. Trouble Will Find Me (2013) peaked at number three on the Billboard 200 chart and won the Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album. Sleep Well Beast (2017) won the same award and peaked at number two on the Billboard 200. The group’s ninth album, I Am Easy to Find (2019), was released to critical acclaim humanizes rock’s slow-motion collapse by luxuriating in its possibilities.”

Vampire Weekend

Vampire Weekend is an American rock band from New York City, formed in 2006. The band consists of singer-guitarist Ezra Koenig, bassist Chris Baio, drummer and percussionist Chris Tomson, and multi-instrumentalist Rostam Batmanglij. Koenig and Tomson met while students at Columbia University; Baio joined them after graduation. Batmanglij was a member of the band until he left in early 2016.

The group began its musical career in late 2007 with the release of their self-titled debut album, Vampire Weekend. The record was produced by Vampire Weekend’s Rostam Batmanglij and released to critical acclaim. The album topped many year-end “best” lists and earned the band a Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album in 2009.

In 2013, Vampire Weekend released their third studio album Modern Vampires of the City to critical acclaim. The album won them a Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album, making them the first band to win the award for two consecutive albums.

Best Indie Rock Songs of the 2010s

The 2010s were a great decade for music, and indie rock was no exception. So many great bands released so many great songs. It was hard to narrow it down, but here are our picks for the best indie rock songs of the 2010s.

“Reflektor” by Arcade Fire

“Reflektor” is a song by Canadian indie rock band Arcade Fire. It was released as the lead single from their fourth studio album, Reflektor, on September 9, 2013.

The song debuted at number one on the Billboard Alternative Songs chart, making it the band’s first number-one single on that chart. The song also peaked at number six on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming the band’s highest-charting single in the United States.

“High Violet” by The National

“High Violet”, the fifth studio album by American indie rock band The National, was released on May 10, 2010 through 4AD. The album was described as “audacious and rewarding” by AllMusic, while BBC Music called it a “triumph”. It was ranked as one of the best albums of 2010 by numerous publications.

“A-Punk” by Vampire Weekend

Vampire Weekend’s “A-Punk” was one of the defining songs of the 2010s indie rock boom. The track, which was released as a single in 2008, epitomized the sound of the era: jangly guitars, preppy attire, and a focus on melodies over lyrics. The song was a hit with both critics and fans, and it helped to launch Vampire Weekend into the mainstream.

Best Indie Rock Albums of the 2010s

The past ten years have been pretty incredible for music lovers, with a staggering amount of talented artists and bands emerging in the indie rock scene. To help you sift through all the great albums that have come out in this decade, we’ve compiled a list of the best indie rock albums of the 2010s.

The Suburbs by Arcade Fire

The Suburbs is the third studio album by Canadian indie rock band Arcade Fire, released on August 2, 2010. The Suburbs was Arcade Fire’s first No. 1 album in the United Kingdom and reached No. 1 in 16 countries, including Canada, Germany, Australia and New Zealand.

The album debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 chart in the United States, selling 156,000 copies in its first week. Reviews were positive upon release and it was nominated for Album of the Year at both the Grammy Awards and the Juno Awards.

High Violet by The National

The National’s fifth studio album, released in 2010, was both a critical and commercial success. It was named the best album of the year by multiple publications and was nominated for two Grammy Awards. High Violet is a bass-driven rock album that features atmospheric arrangements and introspective lyrics. The National’s unique blend of art-rock and indie-rock helped them to stand out from other bands in the 2010s.

Contra by Vampire Weekend

Debuting at #1 on the US Billboard 200 and selling 124,000 copies in its first week, it was Vampire Weekend’s first album to enter the charts in the top position. It was also the fourth best-selling debut album of 2010. In 2012, NME placed the album at number 74 on its list “The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time”.