11 Phenomenal Underground Artists That Deserve Your Attention

By Beth Kirkbride /

2. Welcome Pariah

Welcome Pariah work. They just do. John Waghorn's vocals practically spell 'Britpop' and if you give 'Neither Here Nor There' a listen, almost instantly Blur, Manic Street Preachers and The Verve come to mind, if not The Stone Roses in their earlier years. The band itself fits the stereotypical image of 'mod' like a glove and their music perfectly fuses traces of psychedelia with 90's groove, tying this neatly together with a pop base and a splash of rock 'n' roll sauce to add that extra bite. It's worked time and time again for all the Britpop greats therefore it's no surprise it's working for this Southampton four-piece too. Simplistic 'You Are Everything' works because of its clean guitar-work and bittersweet lyrics such as "Nothing lasts forever / so take a choice between now or never". Such words detail the humdrum details of life oh-so-well; it's this that makes Welcome Pariah's music so good - simply writing what they know and executing on it in the most satisfying of ways.