1. The Genre Doesn't Evolve Easily
Franz Ferdinand were a great band: glitteringly exciting, camply Bowie-esque, and capable of a meaningful sigh. The thoughtful lyrics of 'Fade Together', 'Walk Away' and 'Dark of the Matinee' slotted perfectly next to the jet-propelled, post-punk hits on their albums, and on third record, 'Tonight', they went darker and dubbier than before. It didn't work, critically or commercially, and so they returned this year, "back to basics". It's a similar story for Bloc Party and Editors; two albums of reliable indie, and a divisive, dance-inflected third. Kaiser Chiefs? Two albums of indie, a weird third one. The Kooks? Downhill from the first. Arctic Monkeys jumped the indie ship to live up to their debut's title, and Foals did much the same; they were exceptions though, rather than the rule. The selling point of indie-rock is that it's accessible, "proper music" that doesn't judge if you're working class, or for that matter, particularly talented. From that point of view, it's very difficult to put a different spin on it. And it's impossible for indie bands to move forward without a) becoming stale, or b) losing what made them indie in the first place.