Indie rock can sound mainstream (take Kleenex Girl Wonder, for example, who sounds somewhat like a very nicely done boyband at times). On a purely technical level, all it takes to be an Indie band is to release work through an independent (hence 'Indie') record label. That said, the sound associated with the label 'Indie' is usually intelligent and guitar driven rock music - it has become more explicitly a style in the minds of many people. Regardless, the commonly accepted guideline for calling something Indie is still simply involvement in an independent label, and not any aspect of the style of the music produced.
|