Indie Rock
Indie rock is guitar-based rock that began on independent labels in the 1980s and favors a raw, do-it-yourself sound over polish.
It grew from post-punk and college rock in the United States and United Kingdom. The usual setup is electric guitars, bass and drums, with melodies that can be tuneful or noisy and vocals that are often plain rather than showy. It was first defined by small labels and low budgets. Compared with alternative rock it stayed closer to the underground, though many indie rock bands have since reached large audiences.
Artists it is known for: Pixies, Pavement, The Strokes, Arcade Fire.
- Family
- Alternative & Indie
- On Spotify
- A current genre
- What it is
- A genre
- From
- United States and United Kingdom, 1980s
- Trackify listeners who play it
- 20%
About 16,000 of 83,000 Trackify listeners with public profiles have indie rock among their top artists of the last four weeks. Rounded; updated 13 November 2026.
Indie Rock artists
The Strokes
Fontaines D.C.
Adrianne Lenker
Big Thief
Elliott Smith
bôa
Black Country, New Road
Good Kid
Car Seat Headrest
Florence Road
The indie rock artists most Trackify listeners have in their top fifty. Each opens on Spotify.
Sources
The definition is written for this site from open sources, and was checked against them on 13 November 2026.