# Indie Rock — Genre

> Independent rock. Alternative aesthetic, less polished, distinctive voice.

## Defining elements

- Guitar-driven but less heavy than mainstream rock
- DIY / authentic feel
- Distinctive vocalists
- Often jangly clean guitars
- Mid tempo
- Album-oriented (vs single-driven)

## Sub-types

- **Indie pop rock** — accessible (Vampire Weekend, Two Door Cinema Club)
- **Garage rock** — raw (The Strokes, The White Stripes)
- **Math rock** — complex (Foals, American Football)
- **Indie folk-rock** — acoustic-leaning (Mumford & Sons, Lumineers)
- **Lo-fi indie** — bedroom production (Mac DeMarco, Clairo)

## Typical instrumentation

Clean / lightly distorted electric guitar + bass + drums + vocal + occasional keys/strings

## Production characteristics

- Less polished than mainstream
- Authentic / live feel
- Distinctive vocal character
- Reverb usage
- Vintage equipment often

## Lyrics direction

- Personal, observational
- Often quirky
- Relationship complexity
- Modern life
- Distinctive vocabulary

## For Suno

```
[Style: indie rock, 115 BPM, D major, clean electric guitar + bass + 
drums + male tenor vocals with character, slightly lo-fi production, 
reverb-heavy, authentic feel]
```

## Examples

- Arctic Monkeys, The Strokes, Vampire Weekend, Tame Impala
- Mac DeMarco, Mitski, Phoebe Bridgers, The 1975

## Avoid

- Heavy distortion (too rock)
- Over-polished production
- Auto-tune
- Generic radio sound