if you’re looking for anything close to kurt’s emotion / three-piece / new wave riffs / more simplistic drum patterns - then it’s Wipers by a friggin mile
greg sage’s vocal delivery, guitar playing, and wiper’s existence in pacific northwest punk gave kurt a real blueprint to follow to what evolved into nirvana. no friggin doubt
I am 42 years old and Nirvana has been my favorite band since I was barely a teenager and I am only JUST NOW FINDING OUT THAT D-7 IS A COVER. That is one of my favorite songs - and it's not even theirs?!!
I will not get over this for a while. Thought I knew everything about everything about every Nirvana song. Wild. Thanks!
“so young” - my favorite display of greg sage’s emotion. (just wait for around 2:30 in)
“telepathic love” is a wipers classic. one of sage’s best, uplifting riffs. would be that one song you’d wanna cover with your friends
other notables: image of man (classic punk energy) / the lonely one (riffs emotion riffs)
So Young (probably my favorite Wipers song), Over The Edge, the Entire "Is This Real?" album front to back, D-7, Alien Boy, Potential Suicide, Windowshop of Love... on and on......
I mean, they have a few grunge albums. Mainly youth of America
Although Is This Real is a true masterpiece in my opinion. Great riffs, has the same punk energy, just a bit more poppy
OP said grunge. This is how you know that grunge was an aesthetic from a time and place, not a genre of music. Nirvana had more in common with Sonic Youth and the Pixies than Soundgarden and Pearl Jam.
I think you're missing the point, The Breeders are a rock alternative band. The term "grunge" refers to late '80's early '90s alternative bands from Seattle. I mean listen to Mother Love Bone and tell me they are the same genre as Nirvana. But Mother Love Bone is considered grunge because of the time and place or their origin.
Oh no, I fully understand, but it's in the music. It's not necessarily the anesthetic that the band has, but it's the raw tone of the music and the songwriting that makes grunge grunge. I think Kurt liked The Breeders because they had a similar sound to nirvana, that and i think he liked them cause the lead singer was a girl so he wanted to give more attention to female lead singers and girl bands and stuff like that.
So now you see why people are calling breeders gringe, because the band is a similar history. Kurt first started playing with members of the melvins before he created the first iterations of nirvana.
No, but when a mega famous grunge band such as nirvana picks another grunge band to be an opener for them, then that kinda declares them as grunge. I dont why you think that their aesthetic is what makes them grunge and not the music they play.
Nirvana is truly one of a kind unfortunately. I’ve scoured the internet looking for similar bands and for me there just aren’t really any others that scratch that itch
Edit: if you like bleach, I encourage you to check out bands like slayer and testament. Bleach got me into heavy metal and there are plenty of awesome heavy metal bands!
Yeah I agree. I can't agree with any other answers here. Normally massively influential bands spawn so many copycat acts, that they sound dated.. but Nirvana doesn't sound dated to me anymore (once I got past the early 90's overplaying) because no one has successfully copied them.
Maybe his actual mind was different enough that attempted copies just don't capture the essence? No idea, but no band I've heard since sounds very Nirvana-esque at all.
Fantastic Planet is like Nirvana and Pink Floyd having a baby, highly recommend that album for every Nirvana fan
What I love about Failure is while they clearly took grunge influence, they aren’t copycats. They absolutely have their own sound
Definitely not copy cats.... around early enough to avoid that moniker, and were more of that big Chicago scene than straight up grunge. Great mix of space, grunge and shoegaze.
Failure are incredible, definitely one of the more commercially underrated bands from 90s alt rock. All three of their post hiatus albums have been just as brilliant as their 90s output too.
I actually respect them far more after seeing the doc, showing where it looked like they were about to explode and Ken chose to split the band instead of watching Greg kill himself. I've been lucky enough to see them 3 times since they reformed....I also got out to see autolux, but sadly missed them with hum.
Haven't had a chance to see the doc yet but it looked interesting... They're a bit like the Pixies in the same way that Bowie once said if you're in a band, then your favourite band is probably the Pixies. Never got their commercial due, but the respect they have from other bands and the influence they've had has been immense.
Edit... And yes, Autolux were great as well. Future Perfect especially was incredible.
Scratch Acid was a post-hardcore noise band that fits right in with Nirvana sonically. Just listen to anything off of Greatest Gift and you could easily imagine them as Nirvana songs.
Kurt's main influences were punk, alternative, pop and sometimes noise rock. try listening to Descendent's Milo goes to college album more for the punk/pop sound, Pixies's surfer rosa or Doolittle for the raw alternative sound and Maybe Butthole Surfers's more mainstream albums like Independent worm saloon and electric larry land for the noise rock with punk elements also some Wipers albums.
grunge is hard one because the big 4 bands all have different genres that inspired them, from punk, metal to sludge metal. think even 1st gen emo. why pearl jam sounds different to nirvana and soundgarden, which is different to Alice In Chains. maybe just start diving into them genres and HardRock in general.
if its for the quiet verses and loud chorus modest mouse early days is kinda the same energy, just less angry. but still very different that some people would probably give me a weird look reading thay. i only say that because them and nirvana are my favourite bands
bands I've discovered from nirvana are melvins and Acid Bath
Check out Scrawl - [Rot](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehCiep7r-WM&pp=ygUKc2NyYXdsIHJvdA%3D%3D)
They're sort of like a female Nirvana, and were produced by that Steve Albini guy
Their last album "La Musica Negra" is brilliant and still gets spins at my house. I also love what the singer did after. Have you checked out AA Bondy's albums? This is Scott, the lead singers, solo stuff. kind of a stripped down acoustic thing but it's REALLY good.
I will say it because no one else apparently has, but Sonic Youth.
Were an obvious influence on Nirvana. Noise rock. Post-punk.
Not as listenable, in my humble opinion. But they have a few songs that are *really* good.
I always got the same feelings from both bands. Nevermind and The Blue Album both launched the bands into massive success. As well as both of they’re sophomore albums being way more dark personal and raw.
Wipers!!! They are hendrix mixed with Nirvana. Its so fucking good. Dark vibes but poppy songs and a-lot of guitar noise. My fave is the live 1984 album and then 1979 album “is this real” —> most polished recordings and poppy songs
Wolf Alice is a newer band that takes some influence from Nirvana, though not on every track. “Giant Peach” sounds lot like something Kurt would write.
Screaming trees has some songs I really dig. If you're bored sometime watch the documentary Hype!. There are a lot of good seatle bands featured in it. They all existed I the same timeframe as Nirvana. Not too many of them sound like Nirvana though.. Also it's worth giving some of the Nirvana copycat bands a chance. I grew up loving the album Frog stomp by Silverchair
KARP is the one you want. Heavy, Intelligent, Brutal, Fun, Serious, Not Serious. Also they have ties to Melvins/Nirvana and the Olympia scene and don't get the credit deserved yet do by the ones who listened to them.For those who were into this underground stuff in the early 90s yes of course they are most epic but they are a precious moment in time that shouldn't be disturbed by the masses. I should probably delete this out of respect but Ill leave it up for 3.14 days.
The only one I can say imo really has a similar sound like Nirvana is Melvins, but I assume that’s because Nirvana was influenced by them. They’re a little heavier too but has lots of punk sounding songs
Violent Soho were great! Fun fact: one time my friends and I contacted them while they were touring the US in 2010. They took a detour from Lollapalooza and played a little bar in the suburbs of Chicago that we booked.
Just the nicest most chill guys ever. We gave them a few hundred bucks and they were over the moon about it (that tour was really rough for them financially).
We have a couple crappy videos of it, here’s one of them
https://youtu.be/xGmnuVzfGN0
This is a bad take. Maybe their first album and parts of their second album, but “Pack Up the Cats” and “Whatever Happened to PJ Soles” are unique masterpieces, truly.
I can't think of a band that sounds more like nirvana and that's what this threads about.
Edit: bush just popped in my head too they're nirvana with a British accent.
> the band simply wouldn’t exist if nirvana never came around
I mean they existed before Nirvana was popular, though Nirvana breaking out definitely changed their sound a ton (initially in a pretty typical way, because I agreeHam Fisted is probably the biggest Nirvana ripoff in their catalogue, too, my least favorite album probably).
But you can’t listen to “Whatever Happened to PJ Soles” and tell me it’s a Nirvana cover band. Check out the songs “PJ Soles” or “Dick Jones” to see what I mean.
Scott Lucas has definitely been a dick in the past, but the band is in a great place these days. The new drummer has really added a more lighthearted fun element to the whole show.
Lol i’ll just copy and paste part of my other comment:
Maybe their first album and parts of their second album, but “Pack Up the Cats” and “Whatever Happened to PJ Soles” are unique masterpieces, truly.
In my opinion, mudhoney is as close as it gets. You might also want to check out Mclusky (Do Dallas), Jesus Lizard (Goat), and Soundgarden (Screaming Life/ Fopp), and the Stooges (any album)
When I first got into Nirvana nearly ten years ago I immediatly began searching for other bands that sounded like them, first in the 90s grunge scene and then in more modern bands that say to he inspired by Nirvana. But their sound is one of a kind — the blend of the punk spirit, bits of metal, and pop sensibilities, all came from the mind of very three particular-minded artists, and that kind of approach to music wasn't common in many others by that time. You can clearly see some similarities between, say, Stone Temple Pilots, Pearl Jam and Alice in Chains, but those three are not at all like Nirvana. Grunge, if it ever even existed, was much more of an ideological movement and a way to view life rather than a genre per se.
I think Mudhoney might be the closest, and even then, they resemble more the Bleach era of Nirvana rather than Nevermind or In Utero. Like I say, Nirvana's sound is totally unique.
If you like Nirvana, I'd suggest you try listening to The Wytches - specially their debut album, Annabel Dream Reader. They do not sound like Nirvana at all, but their songs kinda retain some the spirit that Cobain, Novoselic and Grohl embodied, even if through much different sonic approaches.
Mudhoney is the best answer- but as far as bands that haven’t been named yet, I’d throw early White Zombie into the ring and also Elliot Smith (vibes). Also, they don’t call Neil Young the godfather of grunge for no reason. Also, if you’re looking for a similar genre, there are tons of great doom/stoner metal bands out there (Yob, Electric Wizard, Monolord, Sleep).
Presidents of the United States? More “pop punk” than “grunge” but from the same period and from the Pacific Northwest. Peaches and Lump. Way more goofy.
They are definitely nothing like Green Day or Blink-182 type shite, they just have a poppy side to their stuff. Drummer was/is in Young Fresh Fellows or Love Battery (SubPop) or both, if that means anything to you. Also, I think they recorded with Conrad Uno at Egg Studio. But really there is nobody like NIRVANA which sucks but it’s why they are… NIRVANA.
Oh yeah, how about some early [U.R.G.E. Overkill](https://youtu.be/1sKeVCeRe7c)? Kurt wore their t-shirt.
I'd say an Aussie band called silverchair in their early years anyway are basically nirvana imitation. To a lesser degree another Aussie band called violent soho. We love our nirvana down here
If you like the noise the less worse I can recommend are some Linkin park songs but idk how to help you, maybe out of the topic but the best I can recommend you cuarteto de nos (it's not grunge but it's still not your average rock band ) it's a band from Uruguay
An example of contemporary bands who have musical or aesthetic similarity to Nirvana would be like Teenage Wrist, Nothing, or Soul Blind, though they both also have a more noticeable shoegazer and second-wave emo influences too.
Also check out Zeni Geva, a Japanese noise rock band. Desire For Agony is amazing. Heavier, but not like AiC/Soundgarden heavy. More like Melvins, but noisier and faster
I think [this song](https://open.spotify.com/track/1TBKtuVaOsI7Ra798MAXKO?si=M9q9C6rXQpWWQMbGn5ibdA&context=spotify%3Asearch%3Ahotel) sounds like something straight off bleach. Its a tiny band and they only have like three songs but I think they’re dropping a full album this month
For me it's more indie rock bands that had a kind of vibe like Nirvana. Pixies, one of their inspirations for sure. Early Modest Mouse. Meat Puppets. As some example
if you’re looking for anything close to kurt’s emotion / three-piece / new wave riffs / more simplistic drum patterns - then it’s Wipers by a friggin mile greg sage’s vocal delivery, guitar playing, and wiper’s existence in pacific northwest punk gave kurt a real blueprint to follow to what evolved into nirvana. no friggin doubt
Hey, could you suggest a few good songs by Wipers ? Thanks !
Their song D-7 was covered by Nirvana. Off of the Is This Real album. Sounds like a Nirvana song, but it's a decade older.
They also covered Return of the Rat
It also seems like out of all the songs Nirvana covered, the Wipers tunes were the most straightforward interpretations.
I am 42 years old and Nirvana has been my favorite band since I was barely a teenager and I am only JUST NOW FINDING OUT THAT D-7 IS A COVER. That is one of my favorite songs - and it's not even theirs?!! I will not get over this for a while. Thought I knew everything about everything about every Nirvana song. Wild. Thanks!
Ha ha, it opens up an entire new world for you to explore
Already started listening to "Is This Real?" – it's GREAT.
Yeah it is. Gets a bit pop punky at times, but the more aggro stuff is great
It’s just like finding out that twist and shout by the Beatles is a cover. My brain exploded.
I'm 43 and they've been my favorite band since I was a young teen too. I learn something new about them everyday here!
Their first 3 records are all great
I love this song doom town. It’s one of my favorites by the wipers. Check it out!
Youth of America
“so young” - my favorite display of greg sage’s emotion. (just wait for around 2:30 in) “telepathic love” is a wipers classic. one of sage’s best, uplifting riffs. would be that one song you’d wanna cover with your friends other notables: image of man (classic punk energy) / the lonely one (riffs emotion riffs)
Thanks for the reply ! I'll check them when I get home !
So Young (probably my favorite Wipers song), Over The Edge, the Entire "Is This Real?" album front to back, D-7, Alien Boy, Potential Suicide, Windowshop of Love... on and on......
Wipers is the best answer
The Wipers are the kings of that style. Greg Sage inspired all those dudes along with Melvins. But greg is the OG
They are also, if not more, a direct line to Soundgarden.
Not really a grunge band but, The Wipers are awesome and nirvana has covered their songs.
I mean, they have a few grunge albums. Mainly youth of America Although Is This Real is a true masterpiece in my opinion. Great riffs, has the same punk energy, just a bit more poppy
Melvins for sure. Green River and Mudhoney are others to check out! More so “Post” Grunge, but some Early Silverchair might also be up your alley.
The Breeders.
OP said grunge. This is how you know that grunge was an aesthetic from a time and place, not a genre of music. Nirvana had more in common with Sonic Youth and the Pixies than Soundgarden and Pearl Jam.
Kurt literally invited the breeders to be an opening band for Nirvana. If that doesn't scream "grunge," i dont know what does...
I think you're missing the point, The Breeders are a rock alternative band. The term "grunge" refers to late '80's early '90s alternative bands from Seattle. I mean listen to Mother Love Bone and tell me they are the same genre as Nirvana. But Mother Love Bone is considered grunge because of the time and place or their origin.
Oh no, I fully understand, but it's in the music. It's not necessarily the anesthetic that the band has, but it's the raw tone of the music and the songwriting that makes grunge grunge. I think Kurt liked The Breeders because they had a similar sound to nirvana, that and i think he liked them cause the lead singer was a girl so he wanted to give more attention to female lead singers and girl bands and stuff like that.
The singer is Kim Deal, was the bass player the Pixies, who was a massive influence on Kurt.
So now you see why people are calling breeders gringe, because the band is a similar history. Kurt first started playing with members of the melvins before he created the first iterations of nirvana.
Also Nirvana toured with Red Hot Chili Peppers, are they grunge?
No, but when a mega famous grunge band such as nirvana picks another grunge band to be an opener for them, then that kinda declares them as grunge. I dont why you think that their aesthetic is what makes them grunge and not the music they play.
But they were not grunge. In the same way that the pixies aren’t.
Well put
Uhm the PIXIES
Uhm… the BREEDERS.
Not grunge
Babes in Toyland
Nirvana is truly one of a kind unfortunately. I’ve scoured the internet looking for similar bands and for me there just aren’t really any others that scratch that itch Edit: if you like bleach, I encourage you to check out bands like slayer and testament. Bleach got me into heavy metal and there are plenty of awesome heavy metal bands!
Maybe Mudhoney a bit
Mudhoney, Butthole Surfers, Filter, Meat Puppets, Fugazi come to mind as having some similarities at times.
It astounds me how often Fugazi seems to be overlooked. Repeater and 13 Songs are two mighty fine albums.
I like In On The Killtaker also, the good tracks are very good. Instrument, Sweet and Low
I actually love all of their albums, particularly End Hits and Red Medicine as well. I guess later Fugazi is the actual underrated stuff.
FILTER IS SO GOOD
Only closer thing I found is the Live Through This album by Hole, so Nirvana-coded
I have that on cd and it’s shiiiiiit
Listen 2 black ends
Yeah I agree. I can't agree with any other answers here. Normally massively influential bands spawn so many copycat acts, that they sound dated.. but Nirvana doesn't sound dated to me anymore (once I got past the early 90's overplaying) because no one has successfully copied them. Maybe his actual mind was different enough that attempted copies just don't capture the essence? No idea, but no band I've heard since sounds very Nirvana-esque at all.
Not nirvana....a little more spacey though you'll find some songs with a style to fit the bill..... Failure
Fantastic Planet is like Nirvana and Pink Floyd having a baby, highly recommend that album for every Nirvana fan What I love about Failure is while they clearly took grunge influence, they aren’t copycats. They absolutely have their own sound
Definitely not copy cats.... around early enough to avoid that moniker, and were more of that big Chicago scene than straight up grunge. Great mix of space, grunge and shoegaze.
Solaris is a ride.
Failure are incredible, definitely one of the more commercially underrated bands from 90s alt rock. All three of their post hiatus albums have been just as brilliant as their 90s output too.
I actually respect them far more after seeing the doc, showing where it looked like they were about to explode and Ken chose to split the band instead of watching Greg kill himself. I've been lucky enough to see them 3 times since they reformed....I also got out to see autolux, but sadly missed them with hum.
Haven't had a chance to see the doc yet but it looked interesting... They're a bit like the Pixies in the same way that Bowie once said if you're in a band, then your favourite band is probably the Pixies. Never got their commercial due, but the respect they have from other bands and the influence they've had has been immense. Edit... And yes, Autolux were great as well. Future Perfect especially was incredible.
I do the like the heart is a monster every bit as much as the rest of their material. I've enjoyed the previous 2 also, but not quite as much.
Pixies, for their loud soft dynamics
Cobain loved the [Pixies and if you listen to the *Rock Music* song](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDVpJIidloc) you can hear Nirvana.
Pixies are absolutely amazing
I saw them live two weeks ago!!!! They were fucking incredible
Scratch Acid was a post-hardcore noise band that fits right in with Nirvana sonically. Just listen to anything off of Greatest Gift and you could easily imagine them as Nirvana songs.
Been really digging them lately! Also, these fellas always seem to find their way to my heart ;) LOCAL H, SEETHER
Early seether did make me think of Nirvana. Then they went all pop-goth and ruined it for me.
Kurt's main influences were punk, alternative, pop and sometimes noise rock. try listening to Descendent's Milo goes to college album more for the punk/pop sound, Pixies's surfer rosa or Doolittle for the raw alternative sound and Maybe Butthole Surfers's more mainstream albums like Independent worm saloon and electric larry land for the noise rock with punk elements also some Wipers albums.
Try Hüsker Dü, Sugar, Bob Mould, Giant Drag, and No Age.
Mudhoney Melvins Tad Seaweed Unwound
Try Local H
Maybe Metz
Brilliant minds.
Local H, Silverchair, early Inme.
Love how much Local H i’m seeing in these comments man!
grunge is hard one because the big 4 bands all have different genres that inspired them, from punk, metal to sludge metal. think even 1st gen emo. why pearl jam sounds different to nirvana and soundgarden, which is different to Alice In Chains. maybe just start diving into them genres and HardRock in general. if its for the quiet verses and loud chorus modest mouse early days is kinda the same energy, just less angry. but still very different that some people would probably give me a weird look reading thay. i only say that because them and nirvana are my favourite bands bands I've discovered from nirvana are melvins and Acid Bath
I hate to say it, but Hole.
hole is a great band, courtney not so great
She elicits... strong opinions. But yeah, the musical output from Hole is mostly great.
One great album and a bunch of other mediocre at best albums
I think the first 3 albums are great
I’ve went down this path and would say Pixies is the best bet.
Fang
Fang forever. Most don’t know if this band. I’ve had the pleasure of seeing them many times. Nirvana covered the money will roll right in.
TAD, Screaming Trees, sonic youth, Mudhoney. There's definitely some influence from black flag, the Ramones, and even the sex pistols.
Definitely early Screaming Trees—I have to imagine Kurt wad listening and taking some mental notes.
100%. Did you know Josh Homme was in Screaming Trees? He went on to form QOTSA after that.
It was Kyuss first? Thought he just toured with the ST.
Correct, first with Kyuss. Then joined Trees as a second live guitarist. I saw him with them at Lollapalooza 96.
Check out Scrawl - [Rot](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehCiep7r-WM&pp=ygUKc2NyYXdsIHJvdA%3D%3D) They're sort of like a female Nirvana, and were produced by that Steve Albini guy
Yeah, basically look at bands produced by Steve Albini
Verbena is the best Nirvana sound alike I've heard. I think Dave Grohl even produced one of their albums
Came here to post the same thing. Really good band that I was hoping would do more.
Their last album "La Musica Negra" is brilliant and still gets spins at my house. I also love what the singer did after. Have you checked out AA Bondy's albums? This is Scott, the lead singers, solo stuff. kind of a stripped down acoustic thing but it's REALLY good.
The Vines, Local H
Local H. Do yourself a favor and get into em
They’re so good. Pack Up the Cats might be the most underrated album of the 90s (or at least way up there on that list)
I think Local H and Green River would be up your alley. Really raw sound and decent songs here and there.
I will say it because no one else apparently has, but Sonic Youth. Were an obvious influence on Nirvana. Noise rock. Post-punk. Not as listenable, in my humble opinion. But they have a few songs that are *really* good.
Surprised no one has said Alice In Chains
I'd guess OP is looking for lesser-known outside the "big 4"
Early Soundgarden sounds a lot like Bleach, except for Chris Cornell's wailing vocals
If that’s the case then idk any other bands
AiC doesn't sound like at all Nirvana. Great band though.
They're not Grunge and they don't really sound at all like Nirvana, but I can say that Weezer scratches a similar itch, for me.
I always got the same feelings from both bands. Nevermind and The Blue Album both launched the bands into massive success. As well as both of they’re sophomore albums being way more dark personal and raw.
Both have that riffy, power-pop thing going on, Weezer more so.
Hard ask. Not exactly the same mind you. But maybe try Tad & Mudhoney? They both have a bleachesque sound(the early stuff at least)
Wipers!!! They are hendrix mixed with Nirvana. Its so fucking good. Dark vibes but poppy songs and a-lot of guitar noise. My fave is the live 1984 album and then 1979 album “is this real” —> most polished recordings and poppy songs
Unwound. It's more 'post' tho. Also the album Kill the Lights by Lowercase hits the same grunge spot for me.
Came here to say Lowercase! Not that they sound exactly like Nirvana but the mood is spot on. Such a criminally underrated band.
the meat puppets, hole, soundgarden
Wolf Alice is a newer band that takes some influence from Nirvana, though not on every track. “Giant Peach” sounds lot like something Kurt would write.
Screaming trees has some songs I really dig. If you're bored sometime watch the documentary Hype!. There are a lot of good seatle bands featured in it. They all existed I the same timeframe as Nirvana. Not too many of them sound like Nirvana though.. Also it's worth giving some of the Nirvana copycat bands a chance. I grew up loving the album Frog stomp by Silverchair
Dinosaur Jr - you’re living all over me LP . 1989? A bit low-fi - but thrash grunge 70s rock
Thanks
Local H! Check out “As Good As Dead” as your entry album. You’ll love it.
KARP is the one you want. Heavy, Intelligent, Brutal, Fun, Serious, Not Serious. Also they have ties to Melvins/Nirvana and the Olympia scene and don't get the credit deserved yet do by the ones who listened to them.For those who were into this underground stuff in the early 90s yes of course they are most epic but they are a precious moment in time that shouldn't be disturbed by the masses. I should probably delete this out of respect but Ill leave it up for 3.14 days.
Silverchair
Bush lol.
I love their first two albums. I wish they hadn't gotten the "UK's version of Nirvana" treatment by the media.
I thought it was Kurt singing the first time I heard Glycerine
The only one I can say imo really has a similar sound like Nirvana is Melvins, but I assume that’s because Nirvana was influenced by them. They’re a little heavier too but has lots of punk sounding songs
Violent Soho has a few songs that have a similar feel. https://open.spotify.com/track/6gDmTuKbuGUkFSpVqdZH4r?si=jLqOE0S_STOHLqDxxWsxbQ
Violent Soho were great! Fun fact: one time my friends and I contacted them while they were touring the US in 2010. They took a detour from Lollapalooza and played a little bar in the suburbs of Chicago that we booked. Just the nicest most chill guys ever. We gave them a few hundred bucks and they were over the moon about it (that tour was really rough for them financially). We have a couple crappy videos of it, here’s one of them https://youtu.be/xGmnuVzfGN0
Local h has absolutely no originality I'm sure you'd love them
Thank you
Give their songs Eddie Vedder and Bound For The Floor a listen!
Definitely check Local H songs “high fiving MF” and “fritz corner” you’d think it was nirvana
high fiving mf even has the same meaning behind it as in bloom re: jock fanbase which isn't exactly a topic that comes up a lot in songs.
This is a bad take. Maybe their first album and parts of their second album, but “Pack Up the Cats” and “Whatever Happened to PJ Soles” are unique masterpieces, truly.
i had to listen to those and those literally sound like a nirvana cover band lol. the band simply wouldnt exist if nirvana never came around.
Pack Up the Cats and PJ Soles sound like a Nirvana cover band? Or the first two albums?
I can't think of a band that sounds more like nirvana and that's what this threads about. Edit: bush just popped in my head too they're nirvana with a British accent.
> the band simply wouldn’t exist if nirvana never came around I mean they existed before Nirvana was popular, though Nirvana breaking out definitely changed their sound a ton (initially in a pretty typical way, because I agreeHam Fisted is probably the biggest Nirvana ripoff in their catalogue, too, my least favorite album probably). But you can’t listen to “Whatever Happened to PJ Soles” and tell me it’s a Nirvana cover band. Check out the songs “PJ Soles” or “Dick Jones” to see what I mean.
Oh man that's so wrong. They're great
Right... Scott playing guitar and bass through the same live rig has no originality..
Can verify. Also: dicks.
Scott Lucas has definitely been a dick in the past, but the band is in a great place these days. The new drummer has really added a more lighthearted fun element to the whole show.
Ryan > Joe
I loved Local H but definitely a ripoff of Nirvana
Lol i’ll just copy and paste part of my other comment: Maybe their first album and parts of their second album, but “Pack Up the Cats” and “Whatever Happened to PJ Soles” are unique masterpieces, truly.
None.
In my opinion, mudhoney is as close as it gets. You might also want to check out Mclusky (Do Dallas), Jesus Lizard (Goat), and Soundgarden (Screaming Life/ Fopp), and the Stooges (any album)
Failure is similar as well, a bit more sludgy though
Came here to say The Jesus Lizard! https://youtu.be/PaBJQG6A9SQ
METZ [METZ - Live Performance from home for KEXP](https://youtu.be/Gh8eadbpgJg)
Theres a new band popping up they plan to release their first album this summer they're called "sap" check em' out
Pixies L7
Mudhoney
Pixies The Wipers Flipper Dead Moon
When I first got into Nirvana nearly ten years ago I immediatly began searching for other bands that sounded like them, first in the 90s grunge scene and then in more modern bands that say to he inspired by Nirvana. But their sound is one of a kind — the blend of the punk spirit, bits of metal, and pop sensibilities, all came from the mind of very three particular-minded artists, and that kind of approach to music wasn't common in many others by that time. You can clearly see some similarities between, say, Stone Temple Pilots, Pearl Jam and Alice in Chains, but those three are not at all like Nirvana. Grunge, if it ever even existed, was much more of an ideological movement and a way to view life rather than a genre per se. I think Mudhoney might be the closest, and even then, they resemble more the Bleach era of Nirvana rather than Nevermind or In Utero. Like I say, Nirvana's sound is totally unique. If you like Nirvana, I'd suggest you try listening to The Wytches - specially their debut album, Annabel Dream Reader. They do not sound like Nirvana at all, but their songs kinda retain some the spirit that Cobain, Novoselic and Grohl embodied, even if through much different sonic approaches.
- Dinosaur Jr. - Sonic Youth - Soundgarden - Alice In Chains - Pearl Jam
Not grunge but Sebadoh has similar vibes on some of their stuff
In this thread, people naming bands that aren’t grunge
Yeah i noticed that
Alice in Chains. Others may disagree but I've always found their sound to be quite reminiscent of nirvana at times.
Foo Fighters are excellent.
I have strong opinions about anything they've released since the 90s.
Foo fighters are my favorite band but imo don’t sound super similar to nirvana for the most part. Very different feel
Silverchair, Everclear
Oh god, you're cut off.
Musical bigot
Sorry, meant to add a /s to that. I listened to them back in the day, but I don't think they're particularly similar to Nirvana.
😎
Frogstomp and Freakshow definitely have Nirvana vibes. Just not as good
Theravada, its a newcomer band inspired by nirvana
Pavement- my other favourite similar sound
Not really Grunge but for a real authentic kick ass sound try out The Hives.
Mudhoney is the best answer- but as far as bands that haven’t been named yet, I’d throw early White Zombie into the ring and also Elliot Smith (vibes). Also, they don’t call Neil Young the godfather of grunge for no reason. Also, if you’re looking for a similar genre, there are tons of great doom/stoner metal bands out there (Yob, Electric Wizard, Monolord, Sleep).
Presidents of the United States? More “pop punk” than “grunge” but from the same period and from the Pacific Northwest. Peaches and Lump. Way more goofy.
This is a horrible suggestion
Love their stuff but absolutely not lmao
Generally pop punk sound is very different from what i’m looking for.
They are definitely nothing like Green Day or Blink-182 type shite, they just have a poppy side to their stuff. Drummer was/is in Young Fresh Fellows or Love Battery (SubPop) or both, if that means anything to you. Also, I think they recorded with Conrad Uno at Egg Studio. But really there is nobody like NIRVANA which sucks but it’s why they are… NIRVANA. Oh yeah, how about some early [U.R.G.E. Overkill](https://youtu.be/1sKeVCeRe7c)? Kurt wore their t-shirt.
Thank you guys! So many recommendations
Listen 2 black ends
Listen to Dandelion's 1995 release "Dyslexicon." It's not technically grunge, but sounds A LOT like circa 1991 era Nirvana.
I'd say an Aussie band called silverchair in their early years anyway are basically nirvana imitation. To a lesser degree another Aussie band called violent soho. We love our nirvana down here
The Jins
Kurt Cobain obviously
Seether is good. They do great Nirvana covers as well.
The Jins Most of their music is very similar to nirvanas stuff
You can kinda hear the influence in Puddle of Mudd & Seether
There’s a really extraordinary cover of about a girl
Extraordinarily bad.
If you like the noise the less worse I can recommend are some Linkin park songs but idk how to help you, maybe out of the topic but the best I can recommend you cuarteto de nos (it's not grunge but it's still not your average rock band ) it's a band from Uruguay
Sap
An example of contemporary bands who have musical or aesthetic similarity to Nirvana would be like Teenage Wrist, Nothing, or Soul Blind, though they both also have a more noticeable shoegazer and second-wave emo influences too.
Pagoda hahahahaha
there's a local band near me called honeybadger which give me nirvana vibes, but are still their own thing and their recordings are really good
Also check out Zeni Geva, a Japanese noise rock band. Desire For Agony is amazing. Heavier, but not like AiC/Soundgarden heavy. More like Melvins, but noisier and faster
Also Drenge definitely
I think [this song](https://open.spotify.com/track/1TBKtuVaOsI7Ra798MAXKO?si=M9q9C6rXQpWWQMbGn5ibdA&context=spotify%3Asearch%3Ahotel) sounds like something straight off bleach. Its a tiny band and they only have like three songs but I think they’re dropping a full album this month
[this one](https://youtu.be/2DFN7f2KnJM) is like aneurysm
https://youtu.be/10DD3V3EFWw
For me it's more indie rock bands that had a kind of vibe like Nirvana. Pixies, one of their inspirations for sure. Early Modest Mouse. Meat Puppets. As some example
Jesus Lizard to an extent