10 Indie Bangers for a Wedding

There's a theory called 'the nostalgia pendulum' - the 30-year fashion and music cycle, a pattern where cultural trends resurface roughly three decades later. It's pretty obvious why this happens; kids who consumed a decade's worth of culture grow up, start earning a wage, and reach decision-making roles in the creative industries, using the memories and tastes of their formative years to shape mainstream trends.

The '90s leaned heavily into the '60s, the noughties was majorly '70s influenced, and the 2010's saw a massive '80s revival.

And now, shaped by the huge reunion tours of the likes of Oasis, Blur, Pulp and Suede, the '90s are back in a big way. It was a decade when indie became the mainstream, dominating the charts and unwittingly setting the agenda for 2020s kids, raiding their parents' record collections and ageing '90s kids reliving their youth with their own children. And in just a few short years, it'll doubtlessly be the noughties roaring back into fashion, as the next generation of kids gorge on The Strokes, Arctic Monkeys and all the rest.

With all that in mind we've rounded up ten indie bangers fit for a wedding, from the '90s, '00s and beyond, celebrating decades of indie.

Sam Fender - Seventeen Going Under

Starting more recently, Sam Fender is a classic example of taking melodic indie rock into the mainstream. Seventeen Going Under is a modern classic - a raw and anthemic coming-of-age story about his difficult teenage years in the north east. It recalls the stress of his mother's health and financial struggles, feeling helpless, and dealing with the lingering anger and resentment: 'That's the thing with anger, it begs to stick around'. What a line.

Franz Ferdinand - Take Me Out

A tune that proves indie rock is allowed to make you sweat without making you sad. Featuring one of the greatest transitions in indie history on around the 50 second mark, this angular stomper is guaranteed to fill the floor. Indie can take itself rather seriously at times, but this is fun, clever, and catchy as hell.

The Libertines - Time for Heroes

For all the tabloid trouble he got himself into, Pete Doherty was one talented boy with a real gift for lyricism. Time for Heroes is about Doherty's first-hand experience at the London May Day Riots of 2000, capturing chaos on the streets, police clashes, and working class youth culture - and its grimy energy captures it perfectly. A rollicking good tune, and the line "and we'll die in the class we were born, well that's a class of our own, my love" is a line to die for.

Pulp - Babies

Along with Suede's eponymous debut and Blur's 'Modern Life is Rubbish' in 1993, Pulp's 'His n Hers' from spring 1994 was one of the three key records that laid the foundations for what became known as Britpop - when indie took over. While Blur and Oasis took it on a level and were first to gatecrash the mainstream, Pulp were one of the four undisputed kings. Before the blockbuster of 'Common People', 'Babies' had kids in indie discos wiggling their bums in ways they'd previously never thought possible. Seedy and voyeuristic, but still sexy in a way only Jarvis could pull off.

Blur - There's No Other Way

At this point in 1991, Blur were - at the insistence of their record label and very much against their own wishes - riding on the coattails of the Madchester scene, with their riotous and chaotic early live sound thoroughly dampened. Aside from its rather apparent Syd Barrett influence, 'There's No Other Way', with its shuffling Madchester beat, sounded just as the record company had insisted. What what marked it apart, however, and foretold the band's future, was Damon Albarn's enormous gift for melody and Graham Coxon's hugely creative guitar playing. A bona-fide indie disco banger.

The Coral - Dreaming of You

By the end of the '90s Britpop had died a sad death, with a litany of rubbish Johnny-come-latelys trying to ape the kingpins, while the big hitters - sad, drunk and poorly - had mostly moved on. In 2002, The Coral appeared out of nowhere with a sound all of their own - somehow leaning into skiffle and sea shanties, and making it sound fresh, vibrant, and absolutely loads of fun. Entirely singular, 'Dreaming of You' is an underrated yet beloved gem.

Tame Impala - Elephant

Before Kevin Parker became one of the kings of mainstream pop, with his collabs with Dua Lipa, Mark Ronson, Gorillaz and other pop heavyweights, Tame Impala were a fuzzy psychedelic garage rock band of the highest order. 'Elephant' is their early sound in a nutshell - trippy Lennonisms, crunchy guitars and a sick rhythm section that stomps gloriously along. It sounds like a lost late '60s classic, and it absolutely rocks.

Bloc Party - Helicopter

This Bloc Party banger is already over 20 years old and yet it still sounds crazy fresh. Taken from their debut album, the indie classic 'Silent Alarm', this is a frantic and pulsing track with a just slightly off-kilter rhythm, and it epitomised the noughties post-punk revival; angular, jagged, and uniquely British. As we write, in August 2026, Bloc Party are back with their first new release for four years to, shall we say, a mixed reception. However it may be received in the long-term, they will always have Helicopter.

Foals - My Number

It's hard to believe this, from 2013, is already 13 years old. How?! It still feels, and sounds, pretty new. There's a YouTube video called Why Time Feels Faster As You Get Older, and it says "a decade feels fast because routine compresses memory. When life is full of predictable daily tasks like work and family, the brain saves fewer unique details. Looking back, an empty memory map makes ten years feel like a blur." Makes sense. Still, 'My Number' is and will probably forever remain fresh. A hook-filled indie banger up there with the best of 'em.

Oasis - Rock 'n' Roll Star

We couldn't not include Oasis. Never released as a single, Rock 'n' Roll Star nevertheless captures the band at their best - snarling, swaggering, rocking and cocky, in the best possible sense. What sort of band opens their debut album with a song title like this? It's a group of ordinary lads from Burnage dreaming of escaping working class city life, with a bucketload of working class ambition ('I live my life in the city / there's no easy way out / the day's moving just too fast for me'). And, hoo boy, it doesn't half work on the dancefloor. Toniiiiiiiiiiiight, I'm a rock 'n' roll star!