Classic '90s Alternative Artists and Their Modern-Day Doppelgängers
Okay, okay...maybe the use of the word “doppelgängers” is a bit of an exaggeration. The 21st century artists on this list aren’t 100 percent spitting images of the ‘90s alt-rock, grunge, pop-punk, and rock bands they’re likened to below. Some have similar sounds, some have similar stories, some have similar sounds and stories.
More than anything, though, what sounded fun was to think of some of the classic ‘90s alternative artists listed on Amazon Music’s [Re]Discover the ‘90s: Alternative playlist and contemplate which modern-day artist inhabits a similar space, in some interesting fashion, within today’s music world.
Much has been made of the “revival of ‘90s alt-rock” that started to come about in the mid-2010s. Likewise, later ‘90s-style pop-punk experienced a revival of sorts during the COVID-19 pandemic with breakout pop stars like Olivia Rodrigo falling back on the sassy vocals and crunchy guitar of the late ’90s and early ’00s (influential artists like Avril Lavigne, in particular, come to mind).
Renewed interest in emo and garage rock surfaced in the early 2020s as well, largely fueled by a curious Generation Z who found they could relate to the angsty, darker lyrics and became fascinated by the intensity of the music of ‘90s alternative acts. So, just for fun, let’s compare some of today’s music stars with some classic ‘90s alt-rock artists.
1. The ‘90s Artist: Radiohead
Music critics were positively itching to declare that Radiohead were forevermore to be classified as a one-hit wonder. They longed to confirm that the band took a tepid stab at becoming the British Nirvana, and aside from the grungy single “Creep” doing well on America’s alternative and modern rock charts and going Top 10 in the UK, they failed miserably at it.
Which, of course, they did indeed. They are not the British Nirvana, but the world’s Radiohead. Second record The Bends was a giant leap forward in songwriting and sound, with future classics like “Fake Plastic Trees,” “Street Spirit (Fade Out),” and the ballad “High and Dry” proving both idiosyncratic and accessible. They’d made everyone forget about the supposedly derivative “Creep” in short order.
But their evolution in style went stratospheric with 1997’s OK Computer. Fans who simply wanted more lovely melodies mixed with passionate power chords were perplexed. There were clearly exceptional songs on this LP—”Karma Police,” “No Surprises,” “Let Down,” and first single “Paranoid Android” to name but a few—but the arrangements and production were odd enough for some critics to dub the album avant-garde and purposefully difficult to listen to.
The fans and critics who expected Radiohead’s fourth full-length to get back to pop-rock, after having scratched whatever experimental itch OK Computer was, were once again flummoxed by 2000’s Kid A. It ushered in the new millennium by burying perhaps the band’s best songs yet in blips, bleeps, and prog-rock abstractions. This approach would, for the most part, be representative of the band’s musical leanings moving forward.
The Doppelgänger: The 1975
The 1975 are not a modern-day Radiohead in terms of genre, and they have a lot more work to do to come anywhere near mirroring their forebears’ importance. But the fellow Brits do share a spirit of experimentalism. They, too, exhibit an enthusiasm for touching on whatever genres, instrumentation, and arrangements they wish, without fear of how their hard-won audience might feel about it.
2013’s self-titled debut full-length release was more indie and emo, featuring a bevy of one-word-titled songs like “Sex,” “Chocolate,” and “Girls” that gave a brisk nod to Fall Out Boy and Panic! at the Disco. Then their second record, I Like It When You Sleep, for You Are So Beautiful yet So Unaware of It, kicked off with first single “Love Me,” a dancey soul-pop number with ‘80s-era Bowie and Duran Duran vibes.
Personal issues ended up landing singer-songwriter Matty Healy in rehab and sent him into a bit of a tailspin. Likewise, Radiohead’s Thom Yorke did not have substance issues but also declined in terms of mental health after the success he achieved two decades earlier with The Bends and OK Computer. So both bandleaders experienced post-hitting-the-bigtime turmoil, which led to drastic changes in their songwriting styles that would challenge fans while titilating critics.
In fact, at one point Healy openly stated he wanted the 1975’s third record to make the same kind of artistic impact Radiohead’s third record, OK Computer, did. It didn’t end up being a departure of quite such mind-numbing proportions, but A Brief Inquiry into Online Relationships was certainly experimental, and like Kid A, record number four, Notes on a Conditional Form, doubled down on the weirdness from there.
2. The ‘90s Artist: Alanis Morissette
Canadian singer-songwriter Alanis Morissette started off as a children’s TV star in the Big White North. That success led to two dance-pop albums, and then a quiet period until she linked up with American über-producer Glen Ballard to write and record what would become one of the best-selling albums of all time, 1995’s Jagged Little Pill.
The first buzz that lead single “You Oughta Know” created was when it raised eyebrows with a naughty reference that had to be bleeped out on MTV and radio. But the song was so different, so angsty “for a girl” at the time, and it felt so genuine lyrically, as well. The listener believed every sneering threat to her ex-lover that Morissette spit through gritted teeth.
Massive hits like “Ironic” and “You Learn” followed, on the way to the alternative pop-rock album eventually selling 33 million copies. Nothing she released after would enjoy anywhere near the same success, but for a handful of years in the mid- to late-’90s, Morissette was an absolute phenomenon. The impact that one record made would forever provide inspiration to female solo artists, especially, but really to any artists hoping that singular personality and authenticity (and, oh yes—talent) might still be enough to make it in the music biz.
The Doppelgänger: Lorde
New Zealander Lorde broke through in 2012 with her own idiosyncratic, head-turning first single, “Royals.” It was first released on The Love Club EP, and the splash it made set the scene for a 2010s-style phenomenon not unlike the kind “You Oughta Know” enjoyed in its day. “Royals,” too, was just so fresh—in point of view, in slinky electro-pop style, in sparse production...it begged to be listened to again and again, and to be discussed at length amongst discerning popular music aficionados.
Like Morissette in 1995, Lorde had enlisted a lone producer, Joel Little, to help her conceptualize her sound and write that first EP and Pure Heroine, Lorde’s follow-up full-length. By the time that record was released in 2013, “Royals,” which was also included on Pure Heroine, was well on its way to worldwide domination, including a nine-week stay atop the Billboard Hot 100, diamond-level sales as awarded by the RIAA, and two Grammy Awards (and all this just in America alone).
3. The ‘90s Artist: Hole
It was a strange time when the band Hole, led by punk rock ingenue Courtney Love, released what would become their multi-platinum breakthrough album, Live Through This. The record’s April 12, 1994, release date was just a week after Love’s husband, grunge icon Kurt Cobain, died by suicide.
This fact meant that even a sub-par record probably would have sold well just on public curiosity alone. But the record was far from sub-par. In fact, its reviews were favorable pretty much across the board. Live Through This found a way to perfectly balance commercial accessibility with punk rock aesthetic. It represented the sweet spot between their rawer, more lyrically confrontational debut album, Pretty on the Inside, and future poppier efforts like Celebrity Skin and the Love solo release America’s Sweetheart.
Decades later, just about as many contemporary grunge-tinged bands and artists list Courtney Love and Hole as major influences as they do Nirvana. (To be fair, though, Nirvana’s influence is so pervasive and inherent, to artists both within and beyond the alternative rock genre, that it’s almost unnecessary to list Cobain and cohorts as influences.)
The Doppelgänger: Bully
Musically, Bully is a little more early Smashing Pumpkins than Hole or Nirvana, but singer-songwriter and guitarist Alicia Bognanno’s attitude is all Courtney Love. When she’s really wailing, her voice can sound like the Hole frontwoman’s as well (check out the Nirvana cover “About a Girl” for proof).
More similarities and connections: for 2020’s SUGAREGG, Bognanno parted ways with her band, effectively making Bully a solo project. Love, for her part, cut ties with longtime Hole collaborator Eric Erlandson and likewise started over before the final album released under the Hole moniker, 2010’s Nobody’s Daughter, was made.
Also, Bognanno engineered most of Bully’s albums after interning at Chicago’s Electrical Audio studio, which is run by the engineer who helmed Nirvana’s In Utero, the legendary Steve Albini.
4. The ‘90s Artist: The Cranberries
Many of the contemporary artists who are cited as purveyors of the “‘90s alternative revival” are women (Phoebe Bridgers, Soccer Mommy's Sophia Allison). But it’s relatively tough to find all that many female-led ‘90s alt-rock outfits.
The [Re]Discover the ‘90s: Alternative playlist does feature bands like Mazzy Star, No Doubt, and Hole, but it’s not any of those acts who have the most entries in the playlist by a female-fronted band. That distinction goes to the late Dolores O’Riordan’s the Cranberries.
After enjoying hits with “Dreams” and “Linger” off their debut album, the Cranberries followed up that huge mainstream success by going heavier with the first single off their sophomore release, No Need to Argue. “Zombie” ended up driving sales of the record to 17 million worldwide and was a Number 1 alternative rock hit in America.
The Doppelgänger: beabadoobee
It’s not that there are specific moments one can point out throughout any of beabadoobee’s EPs or her 2020 LP Fake It Flowers that evoke the Cranberries, necessarily. Bea Kristi (beabadoobee is her Instagram handle, and now her stage name) has a pretty, delicate voice resembling Juliana Hatfield’s rather than O’Riordan’s singing style (especially when O’Riordan is growl-yodeling on “Zombie”).
The overall feel is very much Cranberries, though, as it incorporates melodies and hooks galore as well as the wall of guitar that the Irish outfit so often utilized. beabadoobee might list Mazzy Star as an influence in her bio, but her music is more exuberant and lush than that of that sparse and dreamy psych-pop group.
5. The ‘90s Artist: Mazzy Star
“Alternative rock” is certainly the category singer-lyricist Hope Sandoval’s and guitarist-composer David Roback’s group Mazzy Star will go down in music history as falling under. But their vibe was not about rocking. “Dreamy” is the adjective most used to describe their signature brand of pop, and for good reason. Their music indeed sounds like the background music to a pleasant dream, where perhaps you’re floating above the ocean on an overcast day, feeling no particular urgency to arrive at any location of importance.
Mazzy Star saw just one single reach the charts, but “Fade Into You” made a significant impression as a Number 3 modern rock hit in America. It meanders and sways with only sparse production before it fades out, just like most of the band’s catalog. This track, however, has a particularly memorable chorus whose somber sentiment hits home with more intention than equally beautiful songs such as “Into Dust” or “Look on Down From the Bridge.”
The Doppelgänger: Widowspeak
There is plenty of distinctive character wrapped up in Widowspeak’s songs. They are by no means a Mazzy Star knockoff. (Not that anyone is accusing them of such a thing.) But they are the group on this list who most stylistically resemble their listicle-mate.
What sets them apart, though, is a willingness to make use of far more melody and disparate instrumentation, showcased by the standalone guitar lines and groovy drumbeat on “The Good Ones,” a standout track from 2020’s Plum.
That said, Widowspeak—also primarily a male-female duo consisting of singer-guitarist Molly Hamilton and guitarist Robert Earl Thomas—lean toward wistful, breezy, and very much “dreamy” indie-pop more often than not.
6. The ‘90s Artist: Green Day
Who did more to bring back a genre of rock ‘n’ roll than the brash Bay Area trio of Green Day when they brought back punk rock in 1994? Seattle grunge bands like Nirvana and Soundgarden may have been rooted in punk, but Green Day were punk. They just polished it up a bit and added some harmony vocals, which propelled their massive worldwide breakthrough album Dookie to unparalleled heights.
Purists who preferred the band’s more one-dimensional, less-mainstream punk albums, like the indie-released Kerplunk!, were none too happy with Green Day for supposedly “selling out” to a major record label. But alas, 20 million fans around the world were only too happy to reward the band for their stylistic shift, giving them the green light to keep pushing the envelope. Their second-best seller ended up being an elaborate concept album, 2014’s American Idiot.
The Doppelgänger: Wavves
For one thing, main Wavves member Nathan Williams sings using that punk-stylized vowel enunciation that Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong, along with most other punk rock singers, also favors. And musically, Wavves clocks in at maybe 50 percent Weezer, 30 percent Green Day, and 20 percent Beach Boys (which is to be royally commended, by the way).
But another factor Williams and Armstrong have in common is that they both expanded on their sound, to some negative fanfare, after earlier success had been achieved by taking an easier approach. Green Day did so in the extreme, going from snot-nosed club punks to gazillion-selling arena rockers.
But Williams’ switch-up was notable, too. The albums that put him on the map in the late-’00s--Wavves, Wavvves, and King of the Beach—were purposefully primitive slacker odes to unabated leisure. Starting with 2013’s Afraid of Heights, Williams instead ramped up the distortion, perfected his power chord form, and featured soul-baring lyrics that addressed the personal turmoil and public dust-ups he’d been involved with that were making him a constant target on the online indie-rock message boards.
7. The ‘90s Artist: No Doubt
Green Day and No Doubt were ‘90s alt-rock cousins of sorts, in that they both added an extra layer of accessible sheen to the rebellious offshoot genre of rock ‘n’ roll that first won them a following. For Green Day, it was bringing punk rock to the masses, and for their part, No Doubt used the sound of the resurgent ska scene in early-’90s Southern California as a stylistic backdrop for their 1995 diamond-selling Tragic Kingdom.
From there, both the band and vocalist Gwen Stefani shook up the whole of pop culture by drawing from a ton more influences than just ska. Second major-label release Return of Saturn slowed things down and adopted a more New Wave flavor. Subsequent album Rock Steady was partially recorded in Jamaica, and was heavily influenced by that country’s raggae and dancehall music. And Stefani’s solo career was far more pop- and R&B-oriented.
The Doppelgänger: MisterWives
Rather than ska, the closest genre one might suggest MisterWives have used as a springboard to more eclectic artistic heights would be the soul-infused dance-pop of peers like Lake Street Dive or perhaps even HAIM.
However, frontwoman Mandy Lee’s presence, vocally and on stage, exudes the fierce confidence and undeniable personality of Stefani, while the scope of MisterWives’ sound has evolved across each new album like No Doubt’s did as well.
And they are not afraid to go all-out No Doubt and randomly get funky, either. Halfway through their second LP’s third track, “Only Human,” they break things down and drop some reggae in the middle of an otherwise straightforward indie-pop singalong song. Primary songwriter Lee and company likewise have no qualms over forgoing traditional song structures and throwing quirky drumbeat curveballs into songs like “Machine” from that same album (2017’s Connect the Dots)—and they went ahead and released it as a leadoff single, too.
Plus, all of it’s done in the context of impossible-not-to-move-to alternative dance music that is usually accentuated with some No Doubt-like horns and throwback synths for good measure.
8. The ‘90s Artist: Weezer
Emo started making a comeback in the 2020s, and there’s no single album more influential than Weezer’s sophomore effort, 1996’s Pinkerton, to the emo-rock canon. Bandleader Rivers Cuomo wrote Pinkerton in response to his conflicting emotions over the massive success of their debut full-length (one of many self-titled albums nicknamed according to the album cover’s primary background color), so the LP evoked darkness and confusion—and turned off both fans and critics alike...at first.
That failure spawned a return to the happy-go-lucky pop sensibilities of their debut for record number three (the “Green Album”), but Pinkerton would eventually become universally accepted as the ultimate proto-emo album. Subsequent releases have seen Cuomo alternate between straight-up power-pop crowd-pleasers (Make Believe) and boundary-nudging experimental platters for the more erudite listener (the “Red Album”).
The Doppelgänger: HAIM
There are tons of bands that sound like Weezer. But HAIM’s selection as Cuomo and company’s doppelgängers is all about how their status within their era of popular music compares to Weezer’s status amidst the mid-’90s music world.
Above all else, each band embraces how their musical geekiness defines their music’s overall aesthetic. It wasn’t cool to shower Beach Boys-style harmonies and Fifties-era “Oh-ooh-woah-ooh-woah” gang vocals over college rock power chords in 1994. And for HAIM...it’s not even cool to play guitars anymore! Let alone wearing influences on their sleeves as diverse as Paula Cole, En Vogue, and Rilo Kiley.
9. The ‘90s Artist: Oasis
In hindsight, it’s probably safe to say Oasis were the ultimate kings of the ‘90s Britpop movement, although fans of bands like Pulp, Suede (known in the U.S. as the London Suede), and especially Blur would vehemently argue that statement. The UK press loved debating each band’s merits, and loved facilitating public feuds between the bands themselves, too, as the genre swelled in popularity around the world.
But no one had to incite arguments between the two leaders of Oasis. Brothers Noel (guitarist and primary songwriter) and Liam (singer) Gallagher were all too happy to oblige of their own accord. Their legendary quarrels almost overshadowed Oasis’s legacy as post-grunge mid-’90s icons. However, standout tracks like “Live Forever” and “Supersonic” off their debut, Definitely Maybe, were good enough to have cemented the band’s status just on their own.
Then the Gallaghers bested themselves with the armful of stone-cold classics that appeared on their follow-up LP, (What’s the Story) Morning Glory?, the anchor anthems being “Wonderwall” and album closer “Champagne Supernova.”
The Doppelgänger: Greta Van Fleet
The one complaint that always dogged Oasis (the one music-related complaint, anyway) was that they were too derivative of the Beatles. The melodies, the pop hooks, Liam Gallagher’s Lennonesque vocal delivery, and the band’s sheer Britishness simply rubbed some people the wrong way.
Greta Van Fleet sound nothing like Oasis, nor do they share much of a similar history. But GVF very much find themselves dealing with the same “too derivative” complaints. In their case, it’s the muscular guitar riffing, the pounding drums, the band member who switches off between bass and keys, and, especially, the banshee wail of lead vocalist Josh Kiszka. No shame in it, but...they really, really sound like Led Zeppelin.
Although Noel Gallagher got in hot water in the ‘90s for suggesting Oasis were going to be bigger than the Beatles, he never shied away from the musical comparisons. As far as he was concerned, everyone has stolen from the Beatles, and if you’re going to steal, you may as well steal from the very best.
Greta Van Fleet, on the other hand, while never disowning the comparisons to Zeppelin, have nonetheless suggested the sonic resemblance was never intentional or conscious. Which some say is a bit hard to believe, but hey: their band is all but single-handedly bringing back melodic, aggressive classic rock, so, more power to them.
Okay, okay...maybe the use of the word “doppelgängers” is a bit of an exaggeration. The 21st century artists on this list aren’t 100 percent spitting images of the ‘90s alt-rock, grunge, pop-punk, and rock bands they’re likened to below. Some have similar sounds, some have similar stories, some have similar sounds and stories.
More than anything, though, what sounded fun was to think of some of the classic ‘90s alternative artists listed on Amazon Music’s [Re]Discover the ‘90s: Alternative playlist and contemplate which modern-day artist inhabits a similar space, in some interesting fashion, within today’s music world.
Much has been made of the “revival of ‘90s alt-rock” that started to come about in the mid-2010s. Likewise, later ‘90s-style pop-punk experienced a revival of sorts during the COVID-19 pandemic with breakout pop stars like Olivia Rodrigo falling back on the sassy vocals and crunchy guitar of the late ’90s and early ’00s (influential artists like Avril Lavigne, in particular, come to mind).
Renewed interest in emo and garage rock surfaced in the early 2020s as well, largely fueled by a curious Generation Z who found they could relate to the angsty, darker lyrics and became fascinated by the intensity of the music of ‘90s alternative acts. So, just for fun, let’s compare some of today’s music stars with some classic ‘90s alt-rock artists.
1. The ‘90s Artist: Radiohead
Music critics were positively itching to declare that Radiohead were forevermore to be classified as a one-hit wonder. They longed to confirm that the band took a tepid stab at becoming the British Nirvana, and aside from the grungy single “Creep” doing well on America’s alternative and modern rock charts and going Top 10 in the UK, they failed miserably at it.
Which, of course, they did indeed. They are not the British Nirvana, but the world’s Radiohead. Second record The Bends was a giant leap forward in songwriting and sound, with future classics like “Fake Plastic Trees,” “Street Spirit (Fade Out),” and the ballad “High and Dry” proving both idiosyncratic and accessible. They’d made everyone forget about the supposedly derivative “Creep” in short order.
But their evolution in style went stratospheric with 1997’s OK Computer. Fans who simply wanted more lovely melodies mixed with passionate power chords were perplexed. There were clearly exceptional songs on this LP—”Karma Police,” “No Surprises,” “Let Down,” and first single “Paranoid Android” to name but a few—but the arrangements and production were odd enough for some critics to dub the album avant-garde and purposefully difficult to listen to.
The fans and critics who expected Radiohead’s fourth full-length to get back to pop-rock, after having scratched whatever experimental itch OK Computer was, were once again flummoxed by 2000’s Kid A. It ushered in the new millennium by burying perhaps the band’s best songs yet in blips, bleeps, and prog-rock abstractions. This approach would, for the most part, be representative of the band’s musical leanings moving forward.
The Doppelgänger: The 1975
The 1975 are not a modern-day Radiohead in terms of genre, and they have a lot more work to do to come anywhere near mirroring their forebears’ importance. But the fellow Brits do share a spirit of experimentalism. They, too, exhibit an enthusiasm for touching on whatever genres, instrumentation, and arrangements they wish, without fear of how their hard-won audience might feel about it.
2013’s self-titled debut full-length release was more indie and emo, featuring a bevy of one-word-titled songs like “Sex,” “Chocolate,” and “Girls” that gave a brisk nod to Fall Out Boy and Panic! at the Disco. Then their second record, I Like It When You Sleep, for You Are So Beautiful yet So Unaware of It, kicked off with first single “Love Me,” a dancey soul-pop number with ‘80s-era Bowie and Duran Duran vibes.
Personal issues ended up landing singer-songwriter Matty Healy in rehab and sent him into a bit of a tailspin. Likewise, Radiohead’s Thom Yorke did not have substance issues but also declined in terms of mental health after the success he achieved two decades earlier with The Bends and OK Computer. So both bandleaders experienced post-hitting-the-bigtime turmoil, which led to drastic changes in their songwriting styles that would challenge fans while titilating critics.
In fact, at one point Healy openly stated he wanted the 1975’s third record to make the same kind of artistic impact Radiohead’s third record, OK Computer, did. It didn’t end up being a departure of quite such mind-numbing proportions, but A Brief Inquiry into Online Relationships was certainly experimental, and like Kid A, record number four, Notes on a Conditional Form, doubled down on the weirdness from there.
2. The ‘90s Artist: Alanis Morissette
Canadian singer-songwriter Alanis Morissette started off as a children’s TV star in the Big White North. That success led to two dance-pop albums, and then a quiet period until she linked up with American über-producer Glen Ballard to write and record what would become one of the best-selling albums of all time, 1995’s Jagged Little Pill.
The first buzz that lead single “You Oughta Know” created was when it raised eyebrows with a naughty reference that had to be bleeped out on MTV and radio. But the song was so different, so angsty “for a girl” at the time, and it felt so genuine lyrically, as well. The listener believed every sneering threat to her ex-lover that Morissette spit through gritted teeth.
Massive hits like “Ironic” and “You Learn” followed, on the way to the alternative pop-rock album eventually selling 33 million copies. Nothing she released after would enjoy anywhere near the same success, but for a handful of years in the mid- to late-’90s, Morissette was an absolute phenomenon. The impact that one record made would forever provide inspiration to female solo artists, especially, but really to any artists hoping that singular personality and authenticity (and, oh yes—talent) might still be enough to make it in the music biz.
The Doppelgänger: Lorde
New Zealander Lorde broke through in 2012 with her own idiosyncratic, head-turning first single, “Royals.” It was first released on The Love Club EP, and the splash it made set the scene for a 2010s-style phenomenon not unlike the kind “You Oughta Know” enjoyed in its day. “Royals,” too, was just so fresh—in point of view, in slinky electro-pop style, in sparse production...it begged to be listened to again and again, and to be discussed at length amongst discerning popular music aficionados.
Like Morissette in 1995, Lorde had enlisted a lone producer, Joel Little, to help her conceptualize her sound and write that first EP and Pure Heroine, Lorde’s follow-up full-length. By the time that record was released in 2013, “Royals,” which was also included on Pure Heroine, was well on its way to worldwide domination, including a nine-week stay atop the Billboard Hot 100, diamond-level sales as awarded by the RIAA, and two Grammy Awards (and all this just in America alone).
3. The ‘90s Artist: Hole
It was a strange time when the band Hole, led by punk rock ingenue Courtney Love, released what would become their multi-platinum breakthrough album, Live Through This. The record’s April 12, 1994, release date was just a week after Love’s husband, grunge icon Kurt Cobain, died by suicide.
This fact meant that even a sub-par record probably would have sold well just on public curiosity alone. But the record was far from sub-par. In fact, its reviews were favorable pretty much across the board. Live Through This found a way to perfectly balance commercial accessibility with punk rock aesthetic. It represented the sweet spot between their rawer, more lyrically confrontational debut album, Pretty on the Inside, and future poppier efforts like Celebrity Skin and the Love solo release America’s Sweetheart.
Decades later, just about as many contemporary grunge-tinged bands and artists list Courtney Love and Hole as major influences as they do Nirvana. (To be fair, though, Nirvana’s influence is so pervasive and inherent, to artists both within and beyond the alternative rock genre, that it’s almost unnecessary to list Cobain and cohorts as influences.)
The Doppelgänger: Bully
Musically, Bully is a little more early Smashing Pumpkins than Hole or Nirvana, but singer-songwriter and guitarist Alicia Bognanno’s attitude is all Courtney Love. When she’s really wailing, her voice can sound like the Hole frontwoman’s as well (check out the Nirvana cover “About a Girl” for proof).
More similarities and connections: for 2020’s SUGAREGG, Bognanno parted ways with her band, effectively making Bully a solo project. Love, for her part, cut ties with longtime Hole collaborator Eric Erlandson and likewise started over before the final album released under the Hole moniker, 2010’s Nobody’s Daughter, was made.
Also, Bognanno engineered most of Bully’s albums after interning at Chicago’s Electrical Audio studio, which is run by the engineer who helmed Nirvana’s In Utero, the legendary Steve Albini.
4. The ‘90s Artist: The Cranberries
Many of the contemporary artists who are cited as purveyors of the “‘90s alternative revival” are women (Phoebe Bridgers, Soccer Mommy's Sophia Allison). But it’s relatively tough to find all that many female-led ‘90s alt-rock outfits.
The [Re]Discover the ‘90s: Alternative playlist does feature bands like Mazzy Star, No Doubt, and Hole, but it’s not any of those acts who have the most entries in the playlist by a female-fronted band. That distinction goes to the late Dolores O’Riordan’s the Cranberries.
After enjoying hits with “Dreams” and “Linger” off their debut album, the Cranberries followed up that huge mainstream success by going heavier with the first single off their sophomore release, No Need to Argue. “Zombie” ended up driving sales of the record to 17 million worldwide and was a Number 1 alternative rock hit in America.
The Doppelgänger: beabadoobee
It’s not that there are specific moments one can point out throughout any of beabadoobee’s EPs or her 2020 LP Fake It Flowers that evoke the Cranberries, necessarily. Bea Kristi (beabadoobee is her Instagram handle, and now her stage name) has a pretty, delicate voice resembling Juliana Hatfield’s rather than O’Riordan’s singing style (especially when O’Riordan is growl-yodeling on “Zombie”).
The overall feel is very much Cranberries, though, as it incorporates melodies and hooks galore as well as the wall of guitar that the Irish outfit so often utilized. beabadoobee might list Mazzy Star as an influence in her bio, but her music is more exuberant and lush than that of that sparse and dreamy psych-pop group.
5. The ‘90s Artist: Mazzy Star
“Alternative rock” is certainly the category singer-lyricist Hope Sandoval’s and guitarist-composer David Roback’s group Mazzy Star will go down in music history as falling under. But their vibe was not about rocking. “Dreamy” is the adjective most used to describe their signature brand of pop, and for good reason. Their music indeed sounds like the background music to a pleasant dream, where perhaps you’re floating above the ocean on an overcast day, feeling no particular urgency to arrive at any location of importance.
Mazzy Star saw just one single reach the charts, but “Fade Into You” made a significant impression as a Number 3 modern rock hit in America. It meanders and sways with only sparse production before it fades out, just like most of the band’s catalog. This track, however, has a particularly memorable chorus whose somber sentiment hits home with more intention than equally beautiful songs such as “Into Dust” or “Look on Down From the Bridge.”
The Doppelgänger: Widowspeak
There is plenty of distinctive character wrapped up in Widowspeak’s songs. They are by no means a Mazzy Star knockoff. (Not that anyone is accusing them of such a thing.) But they are the group on this list who most stylistically resemble their listicle-mate.
What sets them apart, though, is a willingness to make use of far more melody and disparate instrumentation, showcased by the standalone guitar lines and groovy drumbeat on “The Good Ones,” a standout track from 2020’s Plum.
That said, Widowspeak—also primarily a male-female duo consisting of singer-guitarist Molly Hamilton and guitarist Robert Earl Thomas—lean toward wistful, breezy, and very much “dreamy” indie-pop more often than not.
6. The ‘90s Artist: Green Day
Who did more to bring back a genre of rock ‘n’ roll than the brash Bay Area trio of Green Day when they brought back punk rock in 1994? Seattle grunge bands like Nirvana and Soundgarden may have been rooted in punk, but Green Day were punk. They just polished it up a bit and added some harmony vocals, which propelled their massive worldwide breakthrough album Dookie to unparalleled heights.
Purists who preferred the band’s more one-dimensional, less-mainstream punk albums, like the indie-released Kerplunk!, were none too happy with Green Day for supposedly “selling out” to a major record label. But alas, 20 million fans around the world were only too happy to reward the band for their stylistic shift, giving them the green light to keep pushing the envelope. Their second-best seller ended up being an elaborate concept album, 2014’s American Idiot.
The Doppelgänger: Wavves
For one thing, main Wavves member Nathan Williams sings using that punk-stylized vowel enunciation that Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong, along with most other punk rock singers, also favors. And musically, Wavves clocks in at maybe 50 percent Weezer, 30 percent Green Day, and 20 percent Beach Boys (which is to be royally commended, by the way).
But another factor Williams and Armstrong have in common is that they both expanded on their sound, to some negative fanfare, after earlier success had been achieved by taking an easier approach. Green Day did so in the extreme, going from snot-nosed club punks to gazillion-selling arena rockers.
But Williams’ switch-up was notable, too. The albums that put him on the map in the late-’00s--Wavves, Wavvves, and King of the Beach—were purposefully primitive slacker odes to unabated leisure. Starting with 2013’s Afraid of Heights, Williams instead ramped up the distortion, perfected his power chord form, and featured soul-baring lyrics that addressed the personal turmoil and public dust-ups he’d been involved with that were making him a constant target on the online indie-rock message boards.
7. The ‘90s Artist: No Doubt
Green Day and No Doubt were ‘90s alt-rock cousins of sorts, in that they both added an extra layer of accessible sheen to the rebellious offshoot genre of rock ‘n’ roll that first won them a following. For Green Day, it was bringing punk rock to the masses, and for their part, No Doubt used the sound of the resurgent ska scene in early-’90s Southern California as a stylistic backdrop for their 1995 diamond-selling Tragic Kingdom.
From there, both the band and vocalist Gwen Stefani shook up the whole of pop culture by drawing from a ton more influences than just ska. Second major-label release Return of Saturn slowed things down and adopted a more New Wave flavor. Subsequent album Rock Steady was partially recorded in Jamaica, and was heavily influenced by that country’s raggae and dancehall music. And Stefani’s solo career was far more pop- and R&B-oriented.
The Doppelgänger: MisterWives
Rather than ska, the closest genre one might suggest MisterWives have used as a springboard to more eclectic artistic heights would be the soul-infused dance-pop of peers like Lake Street Dive or perhaps even HAIM.
However, frontwoman Mandy Lee’s presence, vocally and on stage, exudes the fierce confidence and undeniable personality of Stefani, while the scope of MisterWives’ sound has evolved across each new album like No Doubt’s did as well.
And they are not afraid to go all-out No Doubt and randomly get funky, either. Halfway through their second LP’s third track, “Only Human,” they break things down and drop some reggae in the middle of an otherwise straightforward indie-pop singalong song. Primary songwriter Lee and company likewise have no qualms over forgoing traditional song structures and throwing quirky drumbeat curveballs into songs like “Machine” from that same album (2017’s Connect the Dots)—and they went ahead and released it as a leadoff single, too.
Plus, all of it’s done in the context of impossible-not-to-move-to alternative dance music that is usually accentuated with some No Doubt-like horns and throwback synths for good measure.
8. The ‘90s Artist: Weezer
Emo started making a comeback in the 2020s, and there’s no single album more influential than Weezer’s sophomore effort, 1996’s Pinkerton, to the emo-rock canon. Bandleader Rivers Cuomo wrote Pinkerton in response to his conflicting emotions over the massive success of their debut full-length (one of many self-titled albums nicknamed according to the album cover’s primary background color), so the LP evoked darkness and confusion—and turned off both fans and critics alike...at first.
That failure spawned a return to the happy-go-lucky pop sensibilities of their debut for record number three (the “Green Album”), but Pinkerton would eventually become universally accepted as the ultimate proto-emo album. Subsequent releases have seen Cuomo alternate between straight-up power-pop crowd-pleasers (Make Believe) and boundary-nudging experimental platters for the more erudite listener (the “Red Album”).
The Doppelgänger: HAIM
There are tons of bands that sound like Weezer. But HAIM’s selection as Cuomo and company’s doppelgängers is all about how their status within their era of popular music compares to Weezer’s status amidst the mid-’90s music world.
Above all else, each band embraces how their musical geekiness defines their music’s overall aesthetic. It wasn’t cool to shower Beach Boys-style harmonies and Fifties-era “Oh-ooh-woah-ooh-woah” gang vocals over college rock power chords in 1994. And for HAIM...it’s not even cool to play guitars anymore! Let alone wearing influences on their sleeves as diverse as Paula Cole, En Vogue, and Rilo Kiley.
9. The ‘90s Artist: Oasis
In hindsight, it’s probably safe to say Oasis were the ultimate kings of the ‘90s Britpop movement, although fans of bands like Pulp, Suede (known in the U.S. as the London Suede), and especially Blur would vehemently argue that statement. The UK press loved debating each band’s merits, and loved facilitating public feuds between the bands themselves, too, as the genre swelled in popularity around the world.
But no one had to incite arguments between the two leaders of Oasis. Brothers Noel (guitarist and primary songwriter) and Liam (singer) Gallagher were all too happy to oblige of their own accord. Their legendary quarrels almost overshadowed Oasis’s legacy as post-grunge mid-’90s icons. However, standout tracks like “Live Forever” and “Supersonic” off their debut, Definitely Maybe, were good enough to have cemented the band’s status just on their own.
Then the Gallaghers bested themselves with the armful of stone-cold classics that appeared on their follow-up LP, (What’s the Story) Morning Glory?, the anchor anthems being “Wonderwall” and album closer “Champagne Supernova.”
The Doppelgänger: Greta Van Fleet
The one complaint that always dogged Oasis (the one music-related complaint, anyway) was that they were too derivative of the Beatles. The melodies, the pop hooks, Liam Gallagher’s Lennonesque vocal delivery, and the band’s sheer Britishness simply rubbed some people the wrong way.
Greta Van Fleet sound nothing like Oasis, nor do they share much of a similar history. But GVF very much find themselves dealing with the same “too derivative” complaints. In their case, it’s the muscular guitar riffing, the pounding drums, the band member who switches off between bass and keys, and, especially, the banshee wail of lead vocalist Josh Kiszka. No shame in it, but...they really, really sound like Led Zeppelin.
Although Noel Gallagher got in hot water in the ‘90s for suggesting Oasis were going to be bigger than the Beatles, he never shied away from the musical comparisons. As far as he was concerned, everyone has stolen from the Beatles, and if you’re going to steal, you may as well steal from the very best.
Greta Van Fleet, on the other hand, while never disowning the comparisons to Zeppelin, have nonetheless suggested the sonic resemblance was never intentional or conscious. Which some say is a bit hard to believe, but hey: their band is all but single-handedly bringing back melodic, aggressive classic rock, so, more power to them.