Forget Brooklyn, for the past few years the country’s best bands have been coming out of the hotbed of rock that is Omaha, Nebraska. In fact, the city’s incestuous music scene hasn’t only birthed some amazing bands but has also helped propel the locally based
Saddle Creek Records into one of the biggest independent labels out there today. Here, we profile a few of the city’s most notable artists as well as a couple more obscure ones. Oh, and the best part? You don’t have to trek out to the cornfield yourself in order to enjoy them.
Simon Joyner: Many people claim that
Simon Joyner is directly responsible for the success of Omaha’s music scene—and to a certain extent that’s true. The singer/songwriter has been releasing albums since the early ’90s and Bright Eyes frontman Conor Oberst regularly cites him as an influence. Joyner has released countless albums on vinyl and compact disc, however you won’t be disappointed if you start with his tenth proper album,
Skeleton Blues, which features the masterful accompaniment of his backing band the Fallen Men and evokes vintage troubadours like Bob Dylan without sounding overly dated or derivative.
Bright Eyes: Bright Eyes ringleader Conor Oberst is the face of the Omaha music scene and with good reason. Although he’s still in his 20s, Oberst has been releasing music under the Bright Eyes moniker since the mid-’90s and has been compared to every guitar-toting protest singer from Bob Dylan to Neil Young (the latter of which he has been known to cover). While his latest disc
Cassadaga is excellent, we recommend checking out
Fevers and Mirrors if you want a real glimpse into Oberst’s tortured soul. Trust us, his catharsis is contagious.
Cursive: Next to Oberst,
Cursive (and the Good Life) frontman Tim Kasher is the biggest force on the Saddle Creek roster—and for good reason. Vocally influenced by despondent literary icons like Charles Bukowski and John Fante, Kasher’s songs have a storytelling quality to them—and even if it’s often the same story of lost love and loneliness, it’s an undeniably satisfying one. If you’re looking to check out an album by Cursive, it’s a toss up between the demented pop-inspired
Happy Hollow and the guitar-and-cello driven
The Ugly Organ, both of which prove that indie rock doesn’t have to be safe or inoffensive.
Neva Dinova: Neva Dinova are the quiet underdogs of the Omaha musical sect. Although they’ve never gotten the same media coverage as the other acts listed in this article, the three-guitar band have consistently been churning out
Built to Spill-inspired indie rock releases for the past six years. The band just released their third full-length (and first for Saddle Creek) titled
You May Already Be Dreaming and while frontman Jake Bellows’ melancholy musings can be somewhat taxing, songs about funeral homes and thunderstorms never sounded so strangely reassuring. Just make sure to have your depression meds nearby.
Maria Taylor: Maria Taylor is best known as one half of the duo Azure Ray, but for the past few years she’s been concentrating on her solo career—and it’s anything but a side-project. With swirling synths, atmospheric flourishes, and inventive arrangements, Taylor has proven herself as the first lady of the Omaha scene. (Oh, and her angelic voice doesn’t hurt either.) While both of her solo releases—
11:11 and
Lynn Teeter Flower—are solid, check out the latter if only for the harmony-rich ballad “A Good Start,” which shows Taylor baring her soul over a gorgeous backdrop of electronic instrumentation and percussive accents.