Alternative rock’s heyday has more or less passed, but there were so many amazing records that came out between the 1990s and 2010s. With so many excellent pieces of work out there, it only makes sense that a few alternative rock albums have slipped through the cracks and become painfully underrated. Let’s look at just four examples that we think are essential listening!
1. ‘Waco’ by Violent Soho
Violent Soho is basically over and done with in the 2020s, but they were really putting out top-shelf work less than a decade ago. Waco was released in 2016 and has been Violent Soho’s most interesting venture thus far.
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Few bands have managed to adhere to the grunge sound without sounding dated, but Violent Soho made it look easy. It’s wild that this album only really got the recognition the band deserved in their native Australia.
2. ‘God Fodder’ by Ned’s Atomic Dustbin
Out of all the underrated alternative rock albums on this list, God Fodder by Ned’s Atomic Dustbin is the greatest debut of them all. This English grebo/shoegaze outfit outdid themselves with this 1991 release, and we still don’t get why more people haven’t heard it.
The band featured two bassists (Matt Cheslin and Alex Griffin) on the album, too. “Kill Your Television” and “Until You Find Out” are essential listening.
3. ‘Scenes From The Second Storey’ by The God Machine
This record from 1993 is probably the most underrated release in alt-rock history. That’s up to your personal opinion, of course. Still, one can’t deny that The God Machine deserved so much better, especially with the incredible debut Scenes From The Second Storey.
This post-rock outfit came to an unfortunate end with the sudden death of Jimmy Fernandez, and one can’t help but wonder what could have been.
4. ‘White Trash Heroes’ by Archers Of Loaf
Underrated alternative rock albums are often ahead of their time, and we’d say that’s the case for Archers Of Loaf. Their fourth album White Trash Heroes is our personal favorite from this indie noise rock outfit, though many fans are partial to their sophomore record Vee Vee.
If you love intense indie rock with alt-rock elements, this is the record to listen to ASAP.
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