This is interesting to me because a lot of the radio indie pop stuff was clearly derivative of Phoenix (not to say Phoenix didn’t have a good amount of radio play either). But there’s a whole slew of middleman soundalikes that bridged that gap, like Coconut Records that virtually no one talks about.

My gut instinct tells me that they’re largely forgotten except for among people who were first getting into music when they came out. I have a friend who gushed about Coconut Records in particular and I bet he still remembers them fondly, but I always thought they were super bland. I’m having trouble thinking of others who fit the same criteria but I bet there’s one or two I still go back to from time to time. Maybe Two Door Cinema Club? I know they have a decent fan base here at least.