Seemingly thousands of British bands have achieved worldwide popularity.
And the Artic Monkeys are one of them.
So it makes sense that a list of bands like Artic Monkeys is populated with mostly British bands.
They just have their own unique sound that differs from rock bands from other countries.
But this list is not only British bands. Not even close.
There are quite a few US bands below, plus one Australian one. And all have something in common with the Artic Monkeys.
Keep reading for some great bands to check out if you are a fan of Alex Turner and co.
Table of Contents
Bands Like The Arctic Monkeys
Oasis
The first band that should be mentioned that resembles the sound of Arctic Monkeys (or rather Arctic Monkeys resemble them) is Oasis, now a legendary British band.
The quintet initially consisted of brothers Liam Gallagher (vocals) and Noel Gallagher (guitar and vocals), Paul Arthurs (guitar), Paul Guigsy McGuigan (bass), and Tony McCarroll (drums).
They released their first single Supersonic in 1993, and critics and audiences welcomed it extraordinarily. The release of their debut LP Definitely Maybe was delayed until 1994, with the release of some previous singles as a preview.
The album could not have been better received: it reached number one on the English charts and the group became a constant star on the covers of major British magazines. Every single released (Live Forever or Cigarettes And Alcohol, for example) reached excellent positions on the charts.
The band went on to create fresh sounds of rock and has influenced many bands, such as Arctic Monkeys, The Killers, and more. If you’re a fan, check out our analysis of the Wonderwall lyrics meaning.
The Killers
Speaking of… back in 2001, a singer, keyboard player, and guitarist named Brandon Flowers was left out of the synth-pop trio to which he belonged.
However, in large part thanks to the passion he felt during an Oasis concert, the artist was really determined to dedicate himself to music and find another way to immerse himself into it.
He gathered people around him, the band went through some lineup changes, and by December 2003, Hot Fuss was ready.
The band decided to keep a good part of the recordings they made for their first demos, because they felt more spontaneity in them. The album was released in June 2004, a month after the band began their first solo tour in various parts of the United States and Europe.
Over the years, the sound of The Killers has evolved. It has become cleaner, more stylized, and a bit more electronic. Without a doubt, we are talking about one of the most important bands of our century, just like the Arctic Monkeys.
Check out the video below and our post discussing the Mr. Brightside lyrics and their meaning for more on this great band.
Blur
Along with Oasis, the group Blur was one of the most popular names in Brit-pop of the 90s. This term was coined by the ineffable British press to encompass bands that took up the most melodic and guitar-making compositional patterns of the best known English bands of the 60s.
This includes bands like the Beatles, the Who, the Small Faces, the Rolling Stones or the Kinks, who previously had already recorded the most psychedelic sounds of the period.
Some other of Blur’s ascendants, especially in its beginnings, are bands like The Stone Roses or Happy Mondays.
Unlike the group led by the Gallagher brothers, Blur’s music is much more varied, imaginative, and creative, surviving in its pop-rock sound of psychedelic traces, noise, art, lo-fi, or dance.
The songs also come with a certain causticity and irony in their social commentary. There are many similarities between the Arctic Monkeys and some of Blur’s songs.
Radiohead
Radiohead is an alternative rock group founded in Oxford, England. It was born by the union of Thom Yorke and Colin Greenwood.
After a while Ed O’Brien, Philip Selway, and Jonny Greenwood joined and the band released their first album called Pablo Honey.
This album fit right into the classic English rock genre: indie rock. It also transmitted a forceful criticism of contemporary society.
The most salvageable song on this album was Creep, a song that secured Radiohead fame, taking them to the top spots of popularity on the world charts. Our article on the meaning of the Creep lyrics has more.
Many critics, were certain that this band would have only temporary fame. This proved to be very wrong. There were other songs included in this album that achieved great acceptance and popularity. They are: You, Stop Whispering, and Anyone Can Play Guitar.
The band has since matured and created many great songs over the years. Their innovative and unique approach has led them to being an influence on a number of younger bands, such as the Arctic Monkeys.
Kings Of Leon
Kings of Lean was founded by children of a preacher who spent their childhood touring the southern US. They went to church at least three times a week listening to the sermons of their father, a preacher from the United Church of Pentecost.
The three Followill brothers Caleb, a singer and guitar player, Nathan on drums, and Jared on bass, complete the lineup with their lead guitar player, cousin Matthew.
In 2002 they got together and RCA signed them. They began work on their first album Youth And Young Manhood which had great reviews. They have been compared to bands like The Strokes, Oasis, The White Stripes, and Supergrass due to their style of playing, much like the Arctic Monkeys.
Kings of Leon drew on various influences from the past when developing their own style. They confess to being influenced by bands like The Eagles, from the 70s, The Band, from the 60s, or Lynyrd Skynyrd.
But they updated these sounds to the present with their energy and youth. Kings Of Leon is a band that has the ideal mix of southern American blues, punk, garage, and boogie.
Tame Impala
It’s been eleven years since the Innerspeaker album came to be. It was the debut album from Tame Impala.
This Australian group, that is basically Kevin Parker, changed the rules of the rock game and opened the way to a new generation of bands that felt seduced by that sound.
That first album was vibrant, retro-futuristic, and clearly orbiting in the psychedelic rock universe. It launched Tame Impala to stardom.
A good word to describe the Tame Impala discography may be “cosmic”. The effects that appear and disappear, the noises, the mantras, the lyrics, and even their covers and videos, are all part of that obsession with the stars.
It might not seem like Arctic Monkeys to some, but there are great similarities between the bands. If you prefer Tame Impala’s style to Arctic Monkeys, you owe it to yourself to also check out out list of bands similar to MGTM.
Twenty One Pilots
If we talk about top bands of the moment, we cannot ignore Twenty One Pilots, an American duo that has managed to blow away any audience that it encounters.
Regardless of the country, the size of the venue, the age of the audience, or the tastes of the public, Tyler Joseph and Josh Dun put rhythm to the atmosphere and put together a relentless party.
Twenty One Pilots have found their way into the taste of thousands and they intend to stay there. For critics, it has been very difficult to place this band within any musical genre.
Their musical style parades between various genres such as alternative hip hop, electropop, indie pop, pop-rock, rap-rock, and alternative rock. It even has reggae influences, in the Blurryface case.
These self-taught musicians have managed to impress audiences and captivate them with their catchy melodies. They use a wide variety of instruments, always seeking to create new and harmonious sounds.
Foster The People
Foster The People is comprised of Mark Foster (vocals, keyboards, piano, synthesizer, guitar, programming, percussion), Jacob “Cubbie” Fink (bass and backing vocals), and Mark Pontius (drums and percussion).
When the band was born in 2009 it adopted the name Foster and The People referring to its creator, the band’s vocalist Mark Foster.
However, some misunderstood that they were called “Foster the People”, something like “take care of people” or “do something for people”.
This made more sense to audiences because their first appearances were at charity events. After noticing that this name was a better match for what they were doing and also seemed like an entertaining pun, they decided to stick with it.
Many know the indie rock group from Los Angeles for hits like Houdini and Pumped Up Kicks. From those hits (and many others), it is very easy to see that they share the same influences as the Arctic Monkeys and belong to the same genre.
The Black Keys
This duo from Ohio, consisting of Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney, has managed to become a rare musical success in the current scene because of its classic character.
Their fame has been gestated year after year and it was not until the arrival of Brothers, their sixth album, that they achieved real success.
An example is Madrid, where they have played twice. The first was in November 2004 with the Rubber Factory tour and barely 500 people attended. Eight years later they returned to the Spanish capital with El Camino. More than 15,000 people attended the concert.
Over time, the duo polished their sound, emulating the history of rock and gaining considerable audience levels.
Everything was complicated in a career that has been developing bottoms-up, with empty rooms, endless trips, and little money in their pockets. But they have managed to overcome all obstacles and create a ton of popular rock music.
Bands Like Arctic Monkeys: Final Thoughts
We hope this list of bands like the Artic Monkeys has given you some great new music to enjoy. We know not everyone will enjoy every group (personally, I can’t stand Oasis), but there should be at least a few artists that speak to you.
We also know that we probably left out quite a few great bands. If you know of any, please leave a comment below and let us know. The same goes, if you disagree with one of our selections.
Finally, you should also check out our list of bands like Nickelback. Even if you don’t like Nickelback, you’ll probably like some of the bands on that list. One of them is Arctic Monkeys.
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