More about: Indie Sleaze

Effy Stonem. Electroclash. Electra Heart. Agyness Deyn. And of course that Alex Turner love note to Alexa Chung. 

The glorious indie sleaze era of the late 2000s and early 2010s still sticks firmly in the memory, and its revival is showing no signs of letting up. Whether you have fond memories of ‘Electric Feel’ or ‘Golden Skans’ at house parties in 2008 or you were more into reblogging black and white oh-so-aesthetic photos of Matty Healy or The Last Shadow Puppets on Tumblr a few years later, it was a formative time for us all. 

But beyond the biggest hits - the sort you’ll see at the top of myriad Spotify playlists, there are plenty of tracks we’ve either forgotten about, or maybe even not listened to before. We’ve found some of the best deeper cuts from the era for your listening pleasure, from B-sides to often-overlooked tracks from smash hit albums - thank us later. 

Uffie - 'Art of Uff'

Where better to start than with cult favourite Uffie? The ‘Art of Uff’ lyric “I’ll make your sleazy dreams come true” inspired the term ‘indie sleaze’, for crying out loud, and with mentions of smoking, drinking and Myspace, it’s hard to think of anything more fitting. She might not be a household name like a couple of the artists on this list, but she’s damn well influential. 

Black Kids - 'I’m Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How To Dance With You'

If there was ever an American band just made to soundtrack The Inbetweeners, Skins, or any of the other late-noughties teen shows we still rinse on All 4 to this day, it was Black Kids. They had some success with debut album Partie Traumatic, and ‘I’m Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How To Dance With You’ was their biggest hit. In a just world, it’d be an indie disco staple a la ‘Let’s Dance To Joy Division’ or ‘Naive’, but we can’t have everything. 

Marina and the Diamonds - 'Obsessions'

Electra Heart is one of the definitive albums of this era, but The Family Jewels came first and made it clear that Marina Diamandis is a huge talent. 'Obsessions' is one of the slower tracks on the album, and can slip under the radar compared to bangers like 'I’m Not A Robot' and 'Are You Satisfied?', but it’s a fucking gem. 

Phoenix - 'Love Like a Sunset, Pt. I'

It would be remiss not to mention French indie pop quartet Phoenix here. Even if you don’t think you’ve heard any of the tracks from their 2009 album Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, you almost certainly have. But perhaps not ‘Love Like a Sunset, Pt. 1’ – and it’s time to change that. This cinematic track stretches out over five minutes, and has a bit of everything. It still holds up today, but somehow sounds very 2009 too. 

Justice - 'Tthhee Ppaarrttyy'

Most of us best know Justice for the electro house BANGER 'We Are Your Friends', but the entirety of their debut album Cross exudes indie sleaze. Take ‘Tthhee Ppaarrttyy’, which features vocals by the aforementioned (and iconic) Uffie, and as the name suggests is a call to have a good time. Grab your Polaroids and your cigarettes and party like it’s 2009…

Sky Ferreira - 'Nobody Asked Me (If I Was Okay)'

Resurrect your Tumblr, because Sky Ferreira is back, baby. Recent releases from the Los Angeles-born singer have been sporadic, but her long-awaited second album Masochism is set to drop this year. In the meantime, you can whet your appetite by revisiting her debut, which has certainly stood the test of time. ‘Nobody Asked Me (If I Was Okay)’ perfectly encapsulates the emotion and angst we all felt at the time, and honestly it continues to bang. 

Vampire Weekend - 'Ottoman'

Are preppy, Ivy League boys and indie sleaze natural bedfellows? Perhaps not, but Vampire Weekend were one of the bands of the era. ‘Ottoman’ never actually made it to an album - it’s the B-side to ‘Holiday’, but you might remember it from Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist. It’s uplifting baroque pop is the perfect accompaniment to summer hedonism - yes, really. 

Delphic - 'Counterpoint'

One of that clutch of late-2000s indie bands, Manchester’s Delphic got to third on the BBC Sound of 2010 poll with their alt-dance sound. ‘Counterpoint’ was their first single, and in some ways sticks to the tried-and-tested Manchester indie sound, but adds more of a mathy quality. A captivating listen, it’s very indie sleaze too. 

Gossip - 'Standing in the Way of Control'

Controversial to say this was a deep cut or underrated? It should have reached higher than number seven on the UK charts - that’s for certain. This dance-punk anthem was inspired by a proposed amendment to the United States constitution that would have legally defined marriage as a union between one man and one woman. The amendment never got through and we’re not saying this song is why, but we’re not not saying it either.

Halsey - 'Empty Gold'

Halsey arrived on the scene at the arse-end of this era - that post-AM time when soft grunge was everything. Her debut album Badlands was huge on Tumblr, and while the lyrics can be a bit I’m-14-and-this-is-deep at times, it still holds a special place in the hearts of many for whom the mid-2010s were their formative years. But Badlands was preceeded by the EP Room 93, and ‘Empty Gold’ is a highlight. 

Grimes - 'Vowels = space and time'

Visions is arguably a modern classic, and Grimes’ real breakthrough, but ‘Vowels = space and time’ flits under the radar as ‘Genesis’ and ‘Oblivion’ pick up the plaudits. Arriving about halfway through the album, it’s four minutes of twinkly, entracing synthpop that’s two parts indie sleaze chaos and one part all the feels. 

The Subways - 'Kiss Kiss Bang Bang'

A rather punky track from the Hertfordshire band, 'Kiss Kiss Bang Bang' is high-octane indie sleaze at its best, and is great for a singalong too. “She’s a devil with a kiss kiss bang bang/Bad blood running through her veins” goes the chorus, which is too difficult not to belt out yourself.

MSTRKRFT - 'Easy Love'

Canadian electro-rock duo MSTRKRFT (pronounced ‘mastercraft’) have perhaps been a tad overlooked on these shores. The band comprises close friends Jesse F. Keeler, also the bassist in Death From Above 1979, and producer Al-P, and they combine rock, house and techno to great effect. ‘Easy Love’ is the sort of song that you know would just slap on a night out.

Death From Above 1979 - 'Right On, Frankenstein!'

Speaking of Death From Above, they had plenty of indie sleaze bangers themselves. Not least ‘Right On, Frankenstein!’, another track that came towards the end of this era - it features on the band’s 2014 album The Physical World. But it embodies indie sleaze beautifully, and it’s wonderfully chaotic. 

Howler - 'Back Of Your Neck'

Touring with The Vaccines in their hayday and bursting onto the 2010s secene as NME's new heartthrob, Jordan Gatesmith of Howler was rebloggable and 'Back Of Your Next' was coded to play obnoxiously loud from Tumblr profiles everywhere. With the lyrics "you think we've Bonnie and Clyde/ but both of them fucking died", the band's debut was a staple of girls obsessed with Submarine and acting like they had commitment issues.

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More about: Indie Sleaze