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Side projects that were actually good?
Weezer are great but Matt Sharp's side project The Rentals were also great.
The first album - Return of the Rentals shows pretty heavy Weezer influence in places, but female vocalists, violins, keyboards, bring a chaotic fun. I dunno, I was alive at the time and maybe it hasn't aged well?
Anyway: what side projects do you think we actually good?
The Postal Service, a collab between Death Cab's Ben Gibbard, Dntel and Jenny Lewis from Rilo Kiley. It's a very early 00s sound, but it continues to be one of my favorite bands.
Imogen Heap and Guy Sigsworth teamed up to become Frou Frou under which they released a single excellent album, Details, before disbanding. The lush electropop arrangements and Heap's breathy, textured vocals are unparalleled.
The opening track, "Let Go", is the perfect introduction to their sound.
Thanks Zach Braff
Man, I played the absolute heck out of Details my freshmen year of highschool. It sounds cliche, because it is, but it helped make my world feel bigger than just some little country town. Garden State had just come out, and my friend just happened to include it with some other Mp3s. I only found out later that they only released the one album.
I have mediocre/bad taste in music, but I really like a lot of Mike Shinoda's non-Linkin Park work as Fort Minor, or as himself. Slip Out the Back, High Road, fine, Happy Endings, and his most recent release Already Over are great songs.
Yes! Fort Minor is one of my favorite albums. The story telling is great. There are a lot of references both subtle and not so subtle to Linkin Park, musically and within the lyrics, which also makes it a fun listen.
I'm sorry but that made me laugh, never seen someone say this before 😂
Fort Minor - Where'd You Go was one of my favorite songs for a minute so I guess I have bad taste in music too!
Haha, I just mean, I tend to listen to the same stuff over and over again (Linkin Park, Rise Against, Fall Out Boy, Incubus), I find merit/enjoyment in nearly every genre of music, I have an entire playlist of dubstep. I simultaneously like mainstream (Lover and later TSwift, Miley, Coldplay etc.), classical, hip hop, random niche stuff. Someone asking me "what kind of music do you listen to" feels like an attack.
It's not that the songs I like are bad, it's that I don't have a real preference on what I listen to.
Except pop-country. I can't enjoy pop-country.
If you're a fan of Bon Iver's most recent albums, like 'i,i' or '22, A Million' then check out the collaboration Justin Vernon did in Volcano Choir. I actually prefer Volcano Choir to any of Bon Iver's pre-Volcano Choir music.
Probably the biggest side project that I've heard of recently would be probably be The Smile which is a spinoff of Radiohead, though if reports are to be believed, it's the replacement for Radiohead.
Two absolutely perfect suggestions; thanks so much. :)
Bright side, I don't think that there's any credence for The Smile replacing Radiohead; the latter will almost certainly resume when its members are ready, I'm sure! Not that I'm too impatient—we're so lucky to have just received an album on the level of Wall of Eyes. I haven't felt this giddy about a new release of this scale since A Moon Shaped Pool...
this last record from The Smile, Wall of Eyes, is so good. The sound is so radiohead but still fresh.
There's also Big Red Machine which has put out some great stuff in the past few years.
I think one of my favorites is Liquid Tension Experiment, which is basically Dream Theater without a singer and with a different bassist. I actually enjoy them more than Dream Theater itself.
Yep, agreed. I did not enjoy their latest album which came out of nowhere but the first two is excellent.
Yeah the third album didn't have quite the same overall feel of the other two, but I did enjoy a few of the songs from it (basically the ones they released as singles).
Probably a more well known one, Mike Patton of Faith No More has Mr. Bungle. Although he was invited to try out for Faith No More because of Mr. Bungle, so which one really is the side project here?
Mike Patton also had a tragically underappreciated side project - General Patton vs. The X-Ecutioners
Mike Patton is a cornucopia of cool and weird musical side projects, which I don't think Mr. Bungle should be included in since he did that first.
Let's see:
Then you get the really odd stuff like Adult Themes for Voice , Hemophilliac, and like a dozen other albums.
I liked the Corpse Flower album he did with Jean-Claude Vannier.
https://mikepatton.bandcamp.com/album/corpse-flower
Yeah I didn't really mention any of his others because I haven't listened to any of them. I should check them out one of these days.
Of his side projects, I like Tomahawk, Lovage, Peeping Tom, and Dead Cross the best if that helps narrow it down at all.
Bloodbath.
Not sure if there's a difference between side project and supergroup, but the founding members definitely still had their "main" thing outside of this. Bloodbath is in my mind at the very top of death metal bands, especially their first EP and two early 00's albums are contenders for best albums of all time in the genre.
It's weird to think that it was originally started as an outlet for the members to get back to the already then-considered 'old school' style of HM-2-driven buzzsaw SweDeath, and yet here we are, further removed in time from that first Bloodbath LP than they were from those early recordings of Nihilist / Entombed et al. Man, I feel old ha.
No denying those first two Bloodbath albums are bona fide classics though. While Nightmares... has a fiery Ã…kerfeldt performance and peak highlight moments, Resurrection... edges it for me as the favourite with its tighter consistency. And 'Eaten'.
Buzzsaw is a great descriptor of that sound - it's probably one of my favorite sounds in extreme metal, up there with well placed blastbeat/machinegun drumming that if used well gives goosebumps.
Pretty much agree with you on favorite album by the way. Unblessing The Purity EP is great too. I looked for it for like a decade (had a large collection of metal CD's) but just couldn't find it - it's on Spotify now at least!
Death metal like this is sadly super rare. Won't often call it "groovy" but that's really what those early releases are, and while their
newsinger since 2014 is alright, those albums are not that good I feelBad Books is a side project between Kevin Devine and Manchester Orchestra's Andy Hull. I don't love all their music but their second self-titled is one of my favorite records.
John Frusciante, sometime guitarist of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, has a prolific solo career. Some of it is profound and some is trash. Some of it is somewhat similar to the more subdued Chili Peppers output, so if you like the vibe on By The Way but aren't in love with the funky aspects or Anthony Kiedis, check this out. The best albums are:
But, if solo projects don't count as side projects, then check out Ataxia, which was a band John formed with the guy from The Mars Volta and the guy who replaced John in the Chili Peppers. They released two albums (EPs maybe?) and are solidly in the top half of the Frusciante pantheon.
And now for something completely different - if you like Sleep or High on Fire, Matt Pike did vocals (and guitar I think?) for a band called Kalas that released a single album, and it's so fucking good. If you're even vaguely interested then you'll probably like it.
For everyone who loves grunge bands Soundgarden and Temple of the Dog, and the post-punk/hard-rock Audioslave, the natural continuation of your music journey will be Chris Cornell's solo work. Some of it is very side-project-y, in my opinion, but there are songs that, honestly, connect to me more than even some of the stuff he's done with those 3 bands. Have a listen to Steel Rain and feel Cornell's vocal work... shit's haunting. Can't Change Me is another one that's just... excellent. After Cornell's death, his daughter used some of his vocals and did a cover of Nothing Compares 2 U which is fantastic. To finish off, Casino Royale's opening theme, You Know My Name which is, imo, the second best theme in the modern James Bond era.
No one sings like you anymore, Chris.
edit: I just gave another listen to Can't Change Me, because I just realized there was a music video as I was writing this post and, wow. I don't know how to explain it, the harmony, the song changes as it progresses and it's just... so fucking good.
edit 2: i found this music video too... When Bad Does Good is incredible
edit 3: as a palestinian, I'd like to add The Promise to this long list
edit 4: can't believe I've forgotten Preaching the End of the World
I really enjoyed the project that Britt Daniel (Spoon) and Dan Boeckner (Wolf Parade) put out, Divine Fits.
Divine Fits - Would That Not Be Nice
I also really liked Michelle Zauner's (Japanese Breakfast) side project BUMPER. Her and Ryan Galloway from the band Crying put out a short EP called "pop songs 2020" under the BUMPER name.
Bumper - You Can Get It
I always appreciate when artists do some side music, even if I don't always love it. I'm sure as much as they love and appreciate their main bands, it's probably nice to do something under a different name without the restrictions and expectations of a certain sound.
You could argue that Japanese Breakfast was a side project of Zauner's first band, Little Big League, when she was up in Oregon during her mother's battle with cancer. Big fan of all three and going from Little Big League to Japanese Breakfast to Bumper is a journey.
True! I have not given Little Big League the time I should. I just love Michelle Zauner in general and will always give anything she touches a try.
Same. I got into Psychopomp when it came out and just did a deep dive on her stuff. You can hear the original version of Boyish and Lindsey which later appeared her Live at Electric Lady session. There are also some rare live renditions like this one from Little Elephant which features has her husband playing bass in it. Also, original bassist is her current bassist in Japanese Breakfast. So yea, like you, huge fan. Even endured the wonkiness of Sable to enjoy the soundtrack.
Thanks for sharing, that was great! Instant add to my library 😊
Aw! I absolutely love when someone likes music I suggest. Thanks for letting me know! :)
Moderat is just as good together as Modeselektor and Apparat are by themselves.
Same goes for TNGHT, made up of Hudson Mohawke and Lunice
I wish Jamie xx would quit The xx and focus solely on his solo stuff as I MUCH prefer it.
Thanks for the introduction to Moderat. I enjoy both separately and did not realize these guys got together
The Dear Hunter [1] [2] [3] originally started as a side project by Casey Crescenzo, then a member of The Receiving End of Sirens. Likewise, one of The Dear Hunter's former members, Gavin Castleton, left the band to focus on his own side project. Some people might appreciate Castleton's Office Space-esque EP Weak Intl., in which he rants about his previous life as a software developer.
Gaslight Anthem is so-so to me, but the lead singer did a single album as The Horrible Crowes that is amazing.
Something a little different, but arguably Miranda Lambert's side project, is The Pistol Annies
For some feminist flair in the folk side, I will also throw out The Highwomen which feature the self-titled takeoff on the famous The Highwaymen super group.
The last track on The Horrible Crowes - Elsie was a cover of 'Joey' by Concrete Blonde. I thought it was a great cover and it's scrubbed from every streaming version of the album. Lame!
Edit, here it is.
Tool is pretty great, and most are familiar with A Perfect Circle, but I'm more interested in Puscifer. Their musical style ranges a fair bit and there are plenty of misses mixed with their hits, but even their misses are interesting.
Tool's drummer Danny Carey also had a side project, an instrumental prog/fusion/jam band called Volto. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vz9u45hCYVk
Monsters of Folk - Supergroup with members of Centro-Matic, MMJ, Bright Eyes, plus M. Ward
Darkside / Against All Logic - Side projects from Nicolas Jaar (+ Dave Harrington for Darkside) with a different feel from his usual work, but every last ounce of the typical quality. Guitar-driven experimental electronic and disco/house, respectively.
Members of Ra Ra Riot and Vampire Weekend released an album under the band name Discovery in 2009 or so. It’s alt-pop-electronic and has some great (and interesting) tracks.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discovery_(band)
Discovery got many plays from me. Reunion album please! I'm a pretty big fan of Rostam, he weaves gold as far as I'm concerned.
I'm not sure if it counts, but Pond is made up with a few of Tame Impala's touring band and I think hugely underrated.
Also Fuzz. It's a Ty Segall side project and I just love it!
Probot, Dave Grohl's side project, was really good. And I don't like any of his main bands.
I'd definately go with Porter Robinson's side project Virtual Self, pretty big departure at the time coming off of his album Worlds, and very far from his recent album Nurture. I find myself coming back to it a lot.
There's a lot of belief that a new EP will drop sometime soon as there has been new music and a B2B set with G Jones at Second Sky music festival.
(also a new Ekowraith feat Wavedash track??)
I'm a huge fan of Porter Robinson—Nurture is one of my favorite albums of all time—and Virtual Self does not disappoint.
I hadn't heard he might be coming back to it, now I'm excited!
You should check out the G Jones B2B Virtual Self Set
I've enjoyed Demons & Wizards, a collab of two artists from a pair of different bands that I like (Iced Earth and Blind Guardian).
I'm not sure it can really be considered a side-project, but Ronnie James Dio's eponymous project Dio, after his roles in Rainbow and Black Sabbath, is also something I like.
Im partial to Karin Dreijers side project Fever Ray. She may be better known as half of The Knife.
Them Crooked Vultures is an awesome side project/supergroup that no one has mentioned. Has Josh Homme from QoTSA, Dave Grohl, and John Paul Jones.
How to Destroy Angels
Nine Inch Nails members Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross alongside Reznor's wife Mariqueen Maandig and longtime Nine Inch Nails collaborator Rob Sheridan.
I thought the album by EL VY, a collaboration by Matt Berninger from The National and Brent Knopf from Menomena was excellent.
Another I initially forgot about.
Lawrence, Kansas's own The Appleseed Cast's (Post-Rock / Indie Rock) lead singer, Chris Crisci had (has?) a side project that is also really good, Old Canes (Folk Rock).
It's technically not a side project, but whatever Erlend Øye did after Kings of Convenience can sort of be considered side projects when really it can probably be considered as new projects.. so allow me some leeway as I'm sort of stretching the definition here.
But The Whitest Boy Alive has kept me captivated for more than a decade now. It's a great mix between calm, upbeat, experimental, and more.
Perhaps then his collaboration with La Comitiva when they made Lockdown Blues, an incredible pandemic inspired track that felt hopeful and wistful, can be considered a side project.
Even so, most of his music is good to great with a distinct style that just makes me feel happy.
I think Erlend's contribution to the DJ-Kicks series is my favorite of the lot.
https://www.discogs.com/master/71208-Erlend-%C3%98ye-DJ-Kicks
I don't think I've heard this yet. Thanks for the recommend!
Lou Barow, bassist for Dinosaur Jr, is great for this thread. Sebadoh and Folk Implosion.
Kim Deal from the Pixies has a few good ones well! The Breeders and the Amps.
Tim Armstrong of Rancid is also a side project junkie, but Transplants is by far the best of them.
Zwan! Mary Star of the Sea is one of my favorite albums, and for some reason I always play it when I'm packing up for a move (it's not particularly related to the subject matter, just some obscure synaptic connection).
Billy Corgan and Jimmy Chamberlin from The Smashing Pumpkins, Paz Lenchantin from A Perfect Circle, David Pajo from Slint, and Matt Sweeney.
I thought of Zwan when this thread popped up but didn't comment because technically the Pumpkins had broken up when Zwan were formed so I didn't know if it'd count as a side project but I guess the other members had their own projects so it definitely counts! Fantastic band though, Mary Star of the Sea is a great album and I still hold out hope we'll get a big Djali Zwan release some day, there's some beautiful music there.
Speaking of the Pumpkins though, Billy's and James' solo albums are always pretty solid and The Jimmy Chamberlin Complex are great too if you're in to rock/jazz fusion.
Zach Hill of Hella has started countless side projects, his most noteworthy being Death Grips. However Death Grips has become gargantuan in fame compared to the rest of his projects, so "which one is really the side project?"
More recently, he teamed up with Nick Reinhart of Tera Melos (again, previously on bygones and Death Grips) to create Undo K From Hot which I absolutely love, and I hope they put out a second record under this name soon.
No matter what genre or experimental sound Zach is putting out I will listen to it. I gave his most recent project with Lucas Abela, NEVER, a solid few listens and it just wasn't for me. But this man has created so many different sounds and projects over the last couple of decades I'd be doing myself a disservice to not sample all of his art with an open mind.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caligola_(music_project)
two guys from Mando Diao joined with a collective and made an amazing album.
I dont like mando diao, but caligola is just nice!
Passenger, a side project of Anders Fridén and Niclas Engelin. Also, Engelin's band ENGEL (if you can call that a side project). However, I must say that ENGEL's pre-release demos were much angrier and rougher than what ended up on their debut album, which disappointed me.
Anders went on to make pop-ish music with In Flames, whereas Engelin is still going strong.
I have a deep love for Lard, the side-project of Al Jourgensen of Ministry and Jello Biafra of the Dead Kennedys. Pure mosh-pit mayhem on every one of their albums.
Mine would be the Traveling Wilburys but the title would probably be "Side projects that were always going to be good".
Traveling Wilburys