Indie Sleaze can be a divisive topic for those who love discussing and dissecting pop culture. Was it a genre? An aesthetic? A lifestyle? Depending on who you ask, it was a bit of all three, really. Also, depending on who you ask, it didn’t exist at all and was instead the collective hallucination of teenagers with early internet blogs.
However you look at Indie Sleaze, there’s no denying there was something in the air in the 2000s. As far as music goes, some bands weathered the storm and found lasting popularity on the other side. But others drifted into obscurity as people moved on from the confusing mess of Indie Sleaze. These three bands still have dedicated fanbases, even though a couple have long since disbanded. For those who forgot, here’s a reminder.
Junior Senior
All it takes is the first five seconds of Junior Senior’s 2002 hit single “Move Your Feet” to transport certain Millennials to some very specific memories. This song was everywhere in the early 2000s, and showed up periodically in the years after that. It appeared on several movie and TV show soundtracks, commercials, Dance Dance Revolution Extreme, and Just Dance 2.
For all that “Move Your Feet” was everywhere, Junior Senior didn’t stick around long. The Danish duo disbanded in 2008, and both members went on to release solo projects. Essentially, “Move Your Feet” outlived its makers, most recently popping up in a Hyundai Tucson commercial in 2024.
The Von Blondies
The Von Blondies formed in 1997, released three albums, and disbanded in 2011, but for a while they were well-known figures of Indie Sleaze. They were big in the Detroit scene, and toured with The White Stripes as an early iteration called Baby Killers. Once their lineup was solidified, Jack White produced their first album, Lack of Communication.
2004 marked the Von Blondies’ breakthrough with their second album Pawn Shoppe Heart. The single “C’mon, C’mon” was a huge hit for the band, hitting decent spots on U.S. and U.K. charts. Additionally, it was used as the opening theme to the TV show Rescue Me, and featured a live performance in the 2004 erotic British film 9 Songs. This earned the band even more attention, but they called it quits in 2011 after one more album.
The Blood Brothers
Post-hardcore band The Blood Brothers fit the Indie Sleaze aesthetic with dynamic vocals and track titles that bordered on emo. They also had the right type of dramatic energy that spoke directly to the misfit Indie Sleaze kids. Their early work featured more distorted guitar and screamo elements, while later albums relied more on drums and vocals.
The Blood Brothers were unique for the drastically different vocal styles of Johnny Whitney and Jordan Blilie. Whitney’s high-pitched squeals and slurring dueled with Blilie’s low, grounded voice. Together they created a cacophony of high-energy noise. In 2007, they announced their disbandment. Blilie noted in 2008 that they no longer shared a vision for the band’s future and decided to pursue solo projects.
Photo by Jamie McCarthy/WireImage
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