Hello again, everyone!

Hopefully, you already saw the first part of this release from a few days ago, but as a quick recap: we are the AIRHeads, consisting of Yaniv, jphn, Kamotch, Bat Ramps, TheOreo, EdTanguy and BornGamerRob, and we’re so happy to finally share our 120+ song (!!!) mega-project Indie of the 21st Century, covering Indie/Alternative classics and deep-cuts chronologically from 2000 to 2023! For this part of the release, we’ll be covering 2007 to 2016, with the final part coming in a few days, so let’s jump right in!

2007:

Starting the year strong, “New Rave” band Klaxons release their first album, featuring the incredibly catchy “Golden Skans,” and indie legends Wilco cement their status with their sixth album “Sky Blue Sky,” represented here with “Side with the Seeds” and its knuckle-tearing guitar solos. The National give us the jagged post-punk banger “Mistaken for Strangers,” while The Maccabees calm things down a bit with the soft and sweet “Toothpaste Kisses.” Alt-rock legends Arcade Fire undoubtedly channel Springsteen in the powerful “Keep the Car Running,” while the equally iconic Killers go as far to feature one of their classic sources of inspiration, with Lou Reed on the track “Tranquilize!” Finally, British rockers The Cribs keep the unexpected features going with “Be Safe,” one of their darker cuts all powered by a spoken word piece delivered by Lee Ranaldo of Sonic Youth!

2008:

Very eclectic mix here, with a little something for everyone – noise-rock fans can find solace in Deerhunter’s “Nothing Ever Happened” and its incredible neo-psychedelic ending breakdown, while 90’s trip-hop pioneers Portishead turn toward electronica with “The Rip” following an eleven-year hiatus. On the more elegant side of things, Elbow bring the incredibly suave “An Audience with the Pope,” and we also see Fleet Foxes flex some gorgeous harmonies on the beautiful “White Winter Hymnal.” Lastly, garage rockers The Pigeon Detectives close the year out with the high-energy “This is an Emergency!”

2009, 2010, & 2011:

Kicking off 2009, the Australian electronic band Art vs. Science brings the house down with the bombastic “Parlez Vous Francais?,” and noise duo Japandroids keep up the momentum with “Wet Hair” – called “playfully scuzzy” by The New York Times thanks to its somewhat juvenile representation of romance, it acts as a huge contrast to the intimate techno of “Heart Skipped a Beat” from The xx, which builds upon on a back-and-forth between ex-lovers after a breakup. Continuing the theme of relationships, “Bad Day” sees singer-songwriter Darwin Deez take the role of a jealous ex taking jabs at their former lover, while folk-punk legends AJJ show us the downsides of long-distance relationships through the high-tempo and aptly-titled “Distance.” Finally, Destroyer takes us to a “Savage Night at the Opera,” a synthpop slow-burn culminating in a cathartic guitar solo!

2012 & 2013:

Another great year! The DNA of the Pixies hit “Where is My Mind?” is all over Basement’s “Covet,” but it still stands on its own as a great emo track! For fans of post-punk, check out Motorama’s breezy Joy Division-inspired sound with “To the South” and DIIV’s almost-hypnotic “Doused.” Taking things down a notch, we have musician-turned-gardener-turned-musician Bill Fay’s “The Healing Day,” and the laid-back bedroom pop stylings of Mac DeMarco on the track “Cooking Up Something Good!” Further easing us into 2013, folk artist Gregory Alan Isakov brings us the mellow opening track “Amsterdam,” which pairs nicely alongside Unknown Mortal Orchestra’s psychedelic “Swim and Sleep (Like a Shark).”

2014 & 2015:

Launching us right into 2014 is Modern Baseball with their anthemic hit “Your Graduation,” and Dum Dum Girls keep that energy going with the gothic dream pop sound of “Rimbaud Eyes!” Britpop royalty Blur deliver the warm, almost tropical “Ghost Ship,” and Australian rocker Courtney Barnett debuts her first album, represented by the incredible jam “Small Poppies,” another standout on guitar. From the dynamic college rock of Adventures’ “Dream Blue Haze,” Best Coast’s indie surf album opener “Feeling OK,” Laura Stevenson’s noisy power pop on “Claustrophobe,” and Protomartyr’s even noisier post-punk banger “Dope Cloud,” there’s plenty here to discover!

2016: 

Huge year ahead, with some emerging artists and some comeback releases from familiar names! Mild High Club starts us off with their surprise neo-psychedelic hit “Homage,” easing us nicely into the bedroom pop stylings of Frankie Cosmos, represented here by the short and sweet “Fool.” Lush break out their familiar shoegaze sound on “Out of Control,” their first (and last) release since 1996, and Iggy Pop joins forces with Queens of the Stone Age frontman Josh Homme and Arctic Monkeys drummer Matt Helders to release the Bowie-esque “Break Into Your Heart.” Philadelphia punkers Mannequin Pussy and UK-based indie rockers Yuck bring the noise with “Romantic” and “Hearts in Motion” respectively, whereas Omni starts to mellow things out with their mathy post-punk hit “Wire.” Finally, Canadian singer-songwriter Andy Shauf brings us the ethereal “The Magician,” and The Avett Brothers tap into their Americana folk sound and cap out the year on “No Hard Feelings.”

…Phew! That’s 42 (!) songs in this part of the pack alone, bumping up the total to 88 – enough for a base setlist for a hypothetical Indie Rock Band! But we’re not done yet, as there’s plenty of great Indie and Alternative to cover from 2017 to now, so stay tuned! Once again, here’s a Spotify playlist containing all the songs we’ve released thus far, so feel free to shuffle and maybe discover some new favorites:

Enjoy the songs, and if you love what you’ve been seeing throughout the event so far, please consider donating to the National Down Syndrome Society if you can! It isn’t required by any means, but it supports a phenomenal cause by empowering individuals with Down syndrome and their families!

Next up, we have a pack from our own Yaniv297 for an artist who needs no introduction. For those who celebrate it, hope you have a wonderful Christmastime!