What Happened To Those Bands? 15 Indie Buzz Bands Who Disappeared

When they peaked: With their double-A side debut single "That's Not My Name"/"Great DJ"

Masters of the meaningless pop ditty you hated but couldn't get out of your head, the Ting Tings were the epitome of late-2000s pop music: short, to the point songs, a sleek image, and inescapable. If you turned on the radio after We Started Nothing was released, you likely heard a cute woman and a much older man wax poetic with lines like, "I ain't freakin', I ain't fakin' this," or, "And the drums, the drums, the drums, the drums, the drums, the drums, the drums, the drums, the drums, the drums, the drums, Oh!"

In retrospect, it's easy to see why they fell off; with a sophomore release that didn't have amazing melodies but kept the idiotic lyrics, they fell off, only to be memorialized by their Wayne's World-like cameo in Horrible Bosses.

When they peaked: With their debut EP in 2007

Without even an EP to their name, Black Kids were receiving coverage from major music outlets like NME and Vice in summer of 2007, mainly off the back of some great live performances. Shortly after, they released the four-track Wizard of Ahhhs EP, which gained them even more exposure, and featured the danceable, catchy, synth-led indie of "Hit The Heartbrakes," "I'm Not Gonna Teach..." and "Hurricane Jane," three songs which would form the backbone of their 2008 debut album Partie Traumatic.

Although it's been nearly five years since that release, the band toured in August of 2013 and made it clear on radio, Twitter, and Facebook that they are still together, and that a second album is in the works. Fans of this Florida band shouldn't give up hope of new music quite yet.

Many of you have inquired about whether or not we were, er, dead. And we're totally not. We just took some time to ourselves to load up on college degrees, procreate, and work on other things. We've been working on new music and hope to release album deux ASAP.

When they peaked: SPIN posting on their name change with divine optimism.

In fairness, this band changed their name to Brite Futures… and then broke up. They basically invented the half-ass photoshop album cover, quickly exploding as one of those bands you can’t help but scoff at on hearing the name. Before PBR&B was considered a genre, people had to look somewhere to break out their mediocre dance moves, and Natalie Portman’s Shaved Heads perfected the catchy but empty dance and singalong song. With songs about topics like hooking up with “yr” daughter and having a rather noteworthy ponytail, it’s hard to say in good faith that anyone misses this band.

When they peaked: From 2001 to 2004, with their fifth and sixth albums

The Faint actually got started with Conor Oberst of Bright Eyes as a member, but he left shortly after the band formed. This could have been a devastating blow, but the Omaha dance-punk/new wave group went on to achieve solid buzz under Omaha's Saddle Creek label.

In 2008 they split with the label and self-released an album called Fasciinatiion that received little attention. During the past years three of the group's members (Clark Baechle, Todd Fink and Jacob Thiele) have been low-key performing under the name Depressed Buttons, DJing small events and remixing other artists. At the end of 2012 Saddle Creek released a deluxe edition of The Faint's 2001 album Danse Macabre and the group toured off that, ending with a final stop at Coachella.

In 2014, they finally released a new album, Doom Abuse. Sadly, no one really cared.

When they peaked: Aziz Ansari "breaking" the band in this hilarious sketch on Human Giant.

Tapes n Tapes walked a career path many bands follow: small blogs loved their debut, then Pitchfork loved it, then everyone loved the band, and then they made a follow-up that was nowhere near the same quality. It's apparently better for your career to work toward greatness rather than start with it. Though still around, the psychedelic Minnesotans haven't released any new music since 2011, and they use social media mainly to... post photos from 2011.

When they peaked: Sometime between "Sweet Disposition" in 500 Days of Summer, "Sweet Disposition" in a Diet Coke ad, and "Sweet Disposition" in a Chrysler ad.

You remember that one song? You know, that one inescapable song that is way overplayed for about a summer, and then no one cares about it because the artist failed to stay relevant or produced anything anywhere near as good?

In 2009, that song was "Sweet Disposition." While the album it came from, Conditions, was solid, the song overshadowed everything else on it. The band's sophomore album produced nothing even close to that level of songwriting. Ultimately, the Glassnote Records veterans showed just how important it is to wait a few years into your career before writing a song that you literally cannot escape if you own a television, radio, or internet connection.

The band is still around, and maybe they'll write something to top "Sweet Disposition" and enable a second act full of relevance and romance and yada yada yada. Most likely, they'll be the indie rock one hit wonders of the late 2000s.

When he peaked: With his 2002 debut album O

This one breaks my heart. Damien Rice sent shivers down my spine in high school, seemingly bursting into the spotlight of everyone's musical lives in the early 2000s with his debut album, O. An strong follow-up album, 9, secured his place in the hearts of anyone who wanted to hear a good indie singer/songwriter, and performing live with Lisa Hannigan, who is now a singer/songwriter in her own right, makes it all the better in retrospect. So what happened? Hard to say. Lisa quit; it was apparently an on-again-off-again relatonship, to which he "would give away all the music success, all the songs, and the whole experience to still have Lisa in [his] life."

He hasn't toured America in a long time, and hasn't released a studio album since 2006, nor a live album since 2007, but he still plays occasional shows on the other side of the pond. Maybe he's lost creatively without Lisa, or maybe he's happy with his financial pull. Now 40 years old, the world would still eat up any new songs from Rice. He told South Korea he was working on an album last year, but there's yet to be official word on the man whose music has aged like fine wine.

When they peaked: With Paper Television in 2006

The Blow started recording a new album in 2011, which is, according to Wikipedia, about "someone who is quasi-lesbian and might have gone off the rails." The album was apparently finished in 2012 but The Blow hasn't released an album since 2007, when Jona Bechtolt (of Yacht) left the group, leaving it as just Khaela Maricich and visual collaborator Melissa Dyne, who is Khaela's partner. While we haven't heard much new music, the duo has been putting in a lot of work on their live show. "We are working together on the live performance," Khaela explains. "[Melissa] is treating the venue each night as one would treat an installation, working with lighting and sound to manipulate the environment and to kind of play with the possibilities of whatever space we are performing in."

UPDATE: The Blow released an album toward the end of 2013, although it went mostly under the radar. Wikipedia hasn't deemed it worthy of its own page.

(Oregon Music News)

When they peaked: When David Bowie and David Byrne came to their show in 2005

This band is probably the most popular artist on this list, having their self-titled album named one of the 50 most important recordings of the 2000s by NPR’s ‘All Songs Considered’ and appearing in media as mainstream as The Office.

So why should they still be on this list? Because they fell off. In 2005 and 2006, you couldn’t escape this band—rockstars were in love (David Bowie! David Byrne!), blogs were in love, TV shows were in love—but now three of five original members have left the band and I’m not sure anyone under the age of 20 can sing along to “In This Home on Ice.”

They have an album coming out this year, maybe you’ll hear about it.

When they peaked: With the release of their self-titled debut album in 2005 and lead single "An Honest Mistake"

I despised The Bravery when they came out. They dressed all sad but wrote some fairly happy sounding tunes, they played up their indie spirits but were hard to escape, they were heralded for their New Wave influences but I didn't hear any. Fast forward a few years without a peep on their front, and I miss The Bravery.

Prominently taking over blogs, the radio, and the world with songs like "Believe," "Time Won't Let Me Go," and "An Honest Mistake" these goth-looking-but-not-goth rockers wrote loveable tunes about topics light and heavy. But they faded from the scene after they simply stopped making music and touring. Though not on formal hiatus, drummer (and Berklee graduate) Anthony Burulcich has found gigs playing with Morissey and Weezer. It might be a while before we see them again, if ever, and that's too bad.

Once you listen to their music at a rate acceptable for human ears, they were actually pretty damn good.

When they peaked: Late 2006 and early 2007

If you got drunk in 2006, you probably heard The Fratellis. The Scottish rockers made music that sounded like Scottsmen drinking, essentially writing the perfect soundtrack for hipsters looking to party and bros trying to be cool. The formula worked amazingly... for an album.

2008's Here We Stand didn't touch Costello Music, and the formula of garage rock drinking songs wore thin by the fifteenth time you heard a similar sounding tune. They went on hiatus in 2009, ensuring that they would fade swiftly, but returned in with We Need Medicine last year. The album charted, but was ignored by most critics and most people you know.

When they peaked: With their single "Radar Detector" in 2010

Darwin Deez didn't exactly disappear, but they were never going to be able to keep up the buzz that they had in 2010. Since the release of their jangly self-titled debut album, and the buzz they achieved with "Radar Detector," the band has been touring widely, and even released a hip-hop mixtape which featured Xaphoon Jones and Kool A.D. in 2011. In Febraury of 2013 they released their sophomore album, Songs For Imaginative People, following which they toured extensively.

Now they just need another "Radar Detector."

When they peaked: When they got banned from Alabama

They're one of David Bowie's favorite bands and great friends with The Killers. But after breaking up in 2008, everyone just forgot about Louis XIV, a band once known for their sexually provocative lyrics and being banned from playing Alabama due to "the likely possibility of irresponsible acts."

Although they did reform in 2013, as is they're probably best remembered for being the band that was banned from Alabama who also had an album cover that put its track listing on the back of a naked woman.

When they peaked: With their 2008 debut album

This Birmingham-based four-piece's shouty, youthful, raucous debut album proper, Waited Up 'Til The Sun Was Light, won them fans and accolades across the board, and with another two album releases under their belt, the last in 2011, the band are still touring, and (according to their Tumblr) working on new music together.

When they peaked: Getting signed to Saddle Creek in 2009

One of Canada's finest imports this side of Rush, The Rural Alberta Advantage are an indie rock band that shot out of nowhere, with two strong albums, but then slowed down. Their debut album was an honorable mention for Albums of the Year on Pitchfork in 2009. Their follow-up earned them a spot at Coachella in 2011. It's three years later, and they're only starting to record a third full length now.

Their meaningful songwriting over disjointed beats with catchy choruses made for a memorable mix that could likely still make it today, but it's tough to bank on anything when the cobwebs are forming on tour itineraries and most people have forgotten the band even exists. Hopefully, The Rural Alberta Advantage will make their way out of rural Alberta sometime soon. The songs are just too catchy for things to not work out if they get back at it.