10 Most Unappreciated Indie Rock Albums Of The 2000s

5. Hot Hot Heat - Make Up The Breakdown

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_K36y-iLUk Hot Hot Heat seemed to come out of nowhere in 2002 with the cosmetic obsessed banger 'Bandages' which charted at Number 25 on the Official UK Singles Charts. This set the stage for one of the noughties' best debut albums, the intricate note spiker Make Up The Breakdown. However this playful little record struggled to make much of a dent commercially despite receiving glowing critical assessments. While there were plenty of technical instrumental compositions on display, the majority of the tracks were pure sugar coated pop. They are in fact as pop-punk as indie can get with melodic guitar riifs and strained vocal delivery peppering this jagged voyage. Most of the tracks are deceptively straightforward however, as close inspection finds many unconventional musical nodes among this unique DNA. Songs like the strutting two-note masterclass 'Talk To Me, Dance With Me' or the giddy excitement of 'This Town' both feature a lot of tinkering under the hood like off-kilter drumming and swift song structure transitions that come off so effortlessly that it seems almost second nature to the Canadian craftsmen. An incredibly mature release for a band just starting out and a modern indie rock classic that is freewheeling on the outside but carefully steered on the inside.