I think âunderratedâ should really refer to bands who struggle to make a living out of music.
Sweet Billy Pilgrim are one such band, a band that had a 5 star review in Mojo, calling their album âCrown & Treatyâ an instant classic. Their previous album âTwice Born Menâ was nominated for the Mercury Music prize and yet Iâve seen them play in a small church in Guildford to a couple of hundred devoted fans.
TVâŚfeatured in an episode of the IT Crowd, live on the late show on BBC2âŚ
Still going and still trying to make a livingâŚ
Tim Eisenburgâs voice is superb. This from a recent charity recordingâŚ
No, that canât be the definition. What if a band is really shit and canât make a living from it⌠The doesnât make them underrated. It makes them shit.
Letâs be clear, there cannot be an agreed definition of under or over rated because itâs subjective. I might rate something really highly and someone else rate it lowly. There is no correct answer.
Iâm giving you bands and artists that I think are underrated and I post examples that to me illustrate the impression they should have a bigger followingâŚone that will allow them to give full rein to their talents.
Their chart success and tabloid notoriety mean that people dismiss them as gimmicky pop. But they were bang on the intersection between Garage, Dubstep and nascent Grime. Innovative and hugely influential.
Great band and a very sad story behind their split. The guitarist had a stroke in their early 20âs I believe. I got hold of their demo album off a friend, it was very unpolished but fab. Singing about darts and A roads.
I believe thatâs the case, which is a huge shame. They really could have been the next Pulp, but their Jarvis was taken out of the game.
Both Dorian Cox and Kate Jackson are making music again. Itâs not as good as The Long Blondes, and I absolutely realise Dorian is still recovering, so Iâm not taking the piss. I hope he goes onto a full recovery and rekindles his earlier promise.
As someone that has suffered a few permanent injuries, I know all too well that ainât easy. I really like both their albums and I hope they all get to a place when they can make another.
Camera Obscura and Teenage Fanclub are two Glaswegian bands that put out consistently good albums over a long period of time without ever making it big.
I struggle with this thread as Iâve gone to post a couple of times and wasnât sure of the definition.
For what itâs worth I think @lifeintheslowlaneâs definition is the most workable but it misses bands that havenât made it into the public consciousness at large but have made enough money to survive.
So I think the thread will be a repository for groups that the poster likes and thinks others should too.
I think the definition that most matches my music collection is bands that have produced something different at a time when the rest of the music world was heading in another direction - and stuck by it.
Both good shouts for me especially Teenage Fanclub - Bandwagonesque and Songs From Northern Britain are great albums for me.
Whilst quite widely known, Belle and Sebastian would be another Glasgow band that havenât made it as big as they should. Again, they went their own way.
Staying in Scotland The Delgados were a band I thought had more talent than success. I really thought they would have made it but perhaps a little too alternative.
A little earlier than that were The Wedding Present and McCarthy. Both completely out there but excellent in their own way.
Loads more but got to check what meets my definition.
The Dears - a Canadian band that produced two albums in the mid 2000s that I absolutely love - Gang of Losers, and No Cities Left.
Despite me feeling that theyâve gone their own way, on some tracks the lead singerâs vocal reminds me alternatively of Morrissey and Damon Albarn. The albums are full of different styles of music that, to my ears, donât follow a formula.
