10 Best Debut Albums From Indie Bands
7. The Smiths - The Smiths
The Smiths are often referred to as one of the most important bands for the indie music scene. Forming way back when in 1982 The Smiths were one of the first indie bands to make it big. Their self-titled album was released in 1984 and acted as an alternative to the popular synth-pop music of the time. It was music for people who wanted something more authentic sounding and melodic. The Smiths had this incredible ability to create songs that could mix upbeat music with depressing lyrics and delivery and make it something wonderful.
The Smiths appealed to a subculture of people, the people who felt they didn't fit in. It was music for people who wanted to be free to feel, whether they felt sad or happy, masculine or feminine, awkward or self-assured in their awkwardness. The Smiths created a genre for guitar music that wasn't submerged in the idea of hard anarchistic rock/ punk. The release of this album gave guitar music a new place to breath one that was much more gentle in its emotions.
Whilst The Smiths may have fallen out of favour in more recent times (due to the ideologies of a certain front man) it’s important to sometimes separate the art from the man, and there's no denying the cultural significance The Smiths had which all started with this ground breaking debut indie album.