Bands you wouldn't recognize a few albums ago
 

This thread is dedicated to all those bands who have gone a few years in between albums, who then suddenly come out with something that makes you say "what the f*ck? that CAN'T be ____!!" Or for those bands who became popular with a style that is on the total opposite side of the spectrum than what they started out with.

I'll start it off with Sugar Ray. Remember all those happy, poppy songs popping up on the old Now albums and Big Shiny Tunes CD's (for the Canucks at least). All those teenie-bopper junior high dance anthems like Fly, when it's over, etc.

Here's a few songs from their first album:

YouTube - 10 Seconds Down - Sugar Ray

YouTube - Mean Machine - Sugar Ray

and now here's one of the newest ones:

YouTube - Sugar Ray - Every Morning

quite the difference

I'm thinking Radiohead.

Compare "Creep" from Pablo Honey to "Everything in its right place" from Kid A. Woah!

Creep

Everything In Its Right Place

Radiohead`s the obvious one but I`m thinking Talk Talk.

Compare (can`t post links yet) any of their new wave stuff like It`s My Life (off the album of the same name) with their later post-rock stuff like Ascension Day (off of Laughing Stock).

How about this Tori Amos video from the 80s, before Little Earthquakes made her famous:

Not quite a band anymore but this was Clint Mansells baby circa 1987:



To Hollywood soundtracks circa 2007:



I like both...

A big list of bands that have consistently changed their sound with examples:


Radiohead (The Bends vs. OK Computer)
Velvet Underground (VU & Nico vs. White Light vs. s/t)
My Bloody Valentine (Isn't Anything vs. Loveless)
Deerhunter (Turn It Up ***got vs. Cryptograms vs. Microcastle)
Pavement (Slanted & Enchanted vs. Wowee Zowee vs. Terror Twilight)
Liars (Drums Not Dead vs. s/t)
Wire (Pink Flag vs. Chairs Missing vs. 154)
The Beach Boys (Surfer Girl vs. Pet Sounds vs. Smile)
The Beatles (Rubber Soul vs. Sgt. Pepper vs. Abbey Road)
The Rolling Stones (Aftermath vs. Beggars Banquet vs. Exile)
The Pixies (Bossanova vs. Surfer Rosa)
Joy Division (Unknown Pleasures vs. Closer)
The Stooges (s/t vs. Raw Power)


Those are just a few examples. I feel it's a sign of a truly great band if they can consistently change their sound while maintaining high quality.

No one mentioned Ween. Rookies

Porcupine Tree
from the opening track of On the Sunday of Life:Jupiter Island to Sentimental.

maybe that's why they call it progressive

Yep. Them too. Except in their case it has more to do with them becoming a lot more polished over the years than it does with them changing their style, since their style is ever changing anyway.

Also, for all Canucks versed in indie:

Jim Guthrie (Ten Thousand Songs vs. Now More than Ever)

Essentially he went from using Playstation and other samples in his music to electric guitars, strings and pop melodies.