The Tiger Lillies, maybe? Especially if you’re able to find an album with “Hell” (as heard on Plunkett & Macleane) on it.
Wilco, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
Try Broken Social Scene and Menomena, both fine examples of smart indie rock. Melodic, unique and very catchy. Menomena reminds me of Catherine Wheel, Coldplay and Elbow. Come to think of it, Elbow is pretty good too, and I think they have a new record out.
Thanks a lot for all the responses!
I’ve been checking out your suggestions, and I pretty much like everything I’ve heard as far as the sound goes.
I forgot to specify one thing though. I am very much a “lyrics man.” I like songs w/ lyrics that make me think. This “thinking” can be more intellectual, or more “poetic”, or more humorous, (the three are intertwined for me in many ways, anyway) but that’s what I like–that both music and lyrics (perhaps especially lyrics, but I’m not sure) be somehow “interesting.”
Any chance I could get people to make suggestions w/ this further caveat in mind?
Thanks again for all your help.
-FrL-
I’ll second Wordman and recommend Grandaddy. The Sophtware Slump is very good, and the lyrics are definitely interesting.
Death Cab for Cutie share a lead singer with The Postal Service, but are mellower (ie, no crazy drum beats). My favorite by them is We Know the Facts and We’re Voting Yes. If you like the electronicness of The Postal Service, then Figurine are good.
I can’t believe nobody has mentioned Death Cab for Cutie. This is the main band of Ben Gibbard, the singer/guitarist in The Postal Service. He is certainly my favourite lyricist; he paints vivid, moving snapshots of ordinarily, life like entries out of random diaries – a quality enhanced by his near-consistent use of full, grammatically-correct sentences and non-rhyming verses.
Check out their album Transatlanticism, a stunning collection of songs around the theme of distance and disconnectedness.
Given your like for The Postal Service, you might like Styrofoam’s latest record, “Nothing’s Lost”, on which Ben Gibbard contributes with a song (“Couches in Alleys”).
You might like The American Analog Set. A little more quiet and (intentionally) monotonal, but certainly catchy. Very subtle, very pleasant, minimalistic but intelligent lyrics. Check out their album Know By Heart.
Ben actually has a wonderful collaboration album (a collaboration accomplished, I believe, the same way The Postal Service album was created: by mail and over the Internet) with The American Analog Set’s front guy, Andrew Kenney. The album is called Home, is part of the Post-Parlo Records “Split CD” series.
Other recommendations, given your preference for good lyrics:
The Dismemberment Plan (now dismembered, alas), specifically the albums Emergency & I and Change. In many ways quite similar to Death Cab. Excellent, excellent lyrics.
Gravenhurst. Singer-songwriter; mostly acoustic, low-key, melancholic. The lyrics are poetic and moving.
Low. Low-key, slow, melancholic; lyrically often rather acerbic and piercing (“I knew this girl when I was young/She took her spikes from everyone/One night she swallowed up the lake/That’s how you sing Amazing Grace”).
Neutral Milk Hotel. Largely unclassifiable – it’s rock, but the way rock is rarely done. The lyrics are extremely vivid and surreal:
Sufjan Stevens. Leaning into the folk category. He is another of my favourite lyricists.
The Decemberists. Very literary – in fact singer/lyricist Colin Meloy has a degree in creative writing.
I definitely second the recommendations for The Shins, A. C. Newman, Broken Social Scene, Rilo Kiley and Modest Mouse. Of these, Mouse has by far the most interesting lyrics. The Moon and Antarctica has some truly fabulous stream-of-consciousness musings about life, the universe and everything.
If you want lyrics that make you think, even if it is mostly bogus and nonsense, you can not go wrong with Sparklehorse and Neutral Milk Hotel.
Ummm…
Many people recomend Blood Brothers. For an almost twee-pop experience you can try Tilly and the Wall. The Robot Ate Me is good for about the same thing, as well.
Someone slightly referenced the Elephant Six. Why not run with that? Apples in Stereo, Olivia Tremor Control, the aforementioned NMH, Belluah, Of Montreal. All great I say.
Pedro the Lion is good for more of a rock sound.
Then you have Ted Leo and the Pharmacists. And the Fiery Furnaces. And Ballboy.
There is just a ton of good music, really. Check out most of the above’s websites for samples or www.epitonic.com for the same thing.
Good luck!
OH! I forgot to mention my favorite band ever, recomended to me since I liked TMBG - Camper Van Beethoven. Extensive discography, covers just about every style of music except for rap, and lyrics that are brilliant and aware while being nonsensical most of the time.
Sparklehorse - More Yellow Birds:
“I’ll never find my pony along the rolling swell
a muddy river or a lake would do me well
with hints of amber sundowns and moody thunderstorms
a sunken barge’s horns, with the cold rusty bells”
I also can not recomend enough The Unicorns. Bizarre, morbid, and fun. It just works. A band in the similar vein, The Liars, are also highly recomended for self-destructing their entire musical style cause of accuastions.
Stopping now…
I second that one - I recently got into this album and am stunned by how good it is. The song “A Lack of Color” is amazing.
I second this! In fact, I came here to mention Camper Van Beethoven, but of course I’ve been beat to it.
ZJ