Artists like Margot & the Nuclear So and So's

Dear and the Headlights was an American indie rock band from Phoenix, Arizona, formed in 2005. They released two widely known demos, recorded by future bassist Chuckie Duff, before their debut album was released. These demos included five songs re-recorded for the album. The most notable change to the songs upon re-recording was the drop from standard guitar tuning to E-flat standard tuning. Two songs heard on their purevolume.com page, recorded acoustic on a local radio show, also later appeared on Small Steps, Heavy Hooves. Small Steps, Heavy Hooves, the band's debut album, was released on February 6, 2007 on Equal Vision Records.

As Tall as Lions were an indie rock band from the hamlet of Massapequa on Long Island, New York, formed in 2001

Blind Pilot is an American indie folk band based in Portland, Oregon, United States. They have released four albums and one EP since 2008.

Voxtrot is an American indie pop band formed in Austin, Texas, in 2003. Their first recordings were released in 2003, and their debut EP, Raised by Wolves, was released in 2005 to critical acclaim, garnering attention from music bloggers as well as major publications such as Pitchfork and Spin. The band gained popularity online during the rise of the early online music blogosphere, particularly among MP3 blogs, leading them to be regarded as a defining act of the blog rock era.

The Airborne Toxic Event is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 2006. It consists of Mikel Jollett, Steven Chen, Adrian Rodriguez, Daren Taylor (drums), and Miriam "Mimi" Peschet. Anna Bulbrook and Noah Harmon were formerly members of the band.

The Format is an American indie rock band, formed by vocalist Nate Ruess and multi-instrumentalist Sam Means. Their style has been considered a mixture of indie, alternative, punk and folk music, with elements of 1960s and 1970s pop music. The Format chose their name to make fun of the music industry's inclination towards a cookie-cutter "format" for a hit single. Formed in 2002, the band released two studio albums before announcing a hiatus on February 4, 2008. On February 4, 2020, they announced a return from their hiatus for a tour of special shows that were later cancelled due to the pandemic. In 2025, the band reunited for a second time and announced their third studio album, Boycott Heaven, which was released on January 23, 2026.

Guster is an American alternative rock band formed in Somerville, Massachusetts. Founding members Adam Gardner, Ryan Miller, and Brian Rosenworcel began practice sessions while attending Tufts University and formed the band in 1991. The members met during the freshman Wilderness Orientation program in August of that year, playing publicly together as a trio two months later at the Midnight Cafe coffee house in the common area of the Lewis Hall dormitory. While attending Tufts, the band lived at 139 College Avenue in Somerville.

Copeland is an American rock band formed in 2001 by the singer, pianist Aaron Marsh with his friend, the bass guitarist and backing vocalist James Likeness, in Lakeland, Florida. The band broke up in 2010 and reunited in April 2014.

Mates of State are an American indie pop duo, active since 1997. The group is the husband-and-wife team of Kori Gardner and Jason Hammel.

Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin (SSLYBY) were an American indie pop band from Springfield, Missouri that formed in 2002. They were named after Boris Yeltsin, the first President of Russia after the breakup of the Soviet Union. Their first full-length album, Broom, was independently released in 2005. They later signed to Polyvinyl Record Co., where they remained for the remainder of their career.

Jason Schwartzman is an American actor and musician. A member of the Coppola family, Schwartzman made his film debut in Wes Anderson's 1998 film Rushmore, and has since appeared in six other Anderson films: The Darjeeling Limited (2007), Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009), Moonrise Kingdom (2012), The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014), The French Dispatch (2021), and Asteroid City (2023). He also has a co-writing credit on The Darjeeling Limited.

Ra Ra Riot is an American indie rock band consisting of Wes Miles (vocals); Mathieu Santos (bass); Milo Bonacci (guitar); Rebecca Zeller (violin); and Kenny Bernard (drums).

Blitzen Trapper is a Portland, Oregon-based experimental country/folk/rock band associated with Sub Pop Records, Vagrant Records, Lojinx, and Yep Roc. Formed in 2000, the band currently operates as a quartet, with Eric Earley (guitar/harmonica/vocals/keyboard), Brian Adrian Koch (drums/vocals/harmonica/guitar), Michael Elson (bass/keyboard), and Nathan Vanderpool (guitar/vocals); at some shows, Michael Blake fills in for Vanderpool. Blitzen Trapper self-released its first three albums. "Wild Mountain Nation" was No. 98 on Rolling Stone's list of the 100 Best Songs of 2007.

Phantom Planet is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 1994. The band consists of Alex Greenwald, Darren Robinson, Sam Farrar, and Andrew Parker (drums). The band is best known for their track "California", which became the theme song for the TV series The O.C.. Jason Schwartzman, now primarily an actor, was a founding member of the band, serving as the band's drummer until 2003.

Hot Hot Heat was a Canadian indie rock band from Victoria, British Columbia, formed in 1999. The band was signed to Seattle label Sub Pop in 2001 and Warner Records throughout the majority of their career.