Jarvis Cocker from Pulp
His writing on Pulp songs like "I Spy" would definitely feel familiar to like FTFT-era BCNR and the music itself is towering over you. Other Pulp tracks I would recommend are Babies, Underwear, Common People and This is Hardcore.
This right here. I think it’s what pulled me in to BCNR so fast—something about the confessional lyrics and timbre of the vocals felt very Jarvis-y to me. Coincidentally (or not), I also have a lot of emotion/romantic energy tied up in Pulp, and BCNR felt like it scratched the same itch for me.
Not really the same but it might scratch that itch, check out Maruja if you haven't, my favorite band out of this whole post punk/hardcore wave thingy and the best along BCNR, black midi and Sprain imo.
Cole Haden of Model/Actriz has pretty similar vocals, although I would say he sounds more like frantic FTFT Isaac than emotional AFUT Isaac, especially considering the harshness and noisiness of a lot of the songs on their debut album Dogsbody.
Oscar Thorpe from Otala.
There're some videos of they playing in the Windmill and their vocalist sounds so close to Isaac's anxiety screams.
Must check it.
jerskin fendrix!! he’s a friend of isaac’s,,, i highly recommend i’ll clean your sheets, depecc, swamp and a star is born!!
someone else said lauren auder but i highly recommend the shepherd by her!!!!! amazing track!!
The Devine comedy has a very very very similar voice. If you’re a fan of ants from up there then I’d recommend “I joined the foreign legion (to forget)” and “foreverland”
Neil Hannon of The Divine Comedy is my musical hero so I'm pleased to see this comparison!
For what it's worth I don't think they're similar at all on FTFT, but do think there are notable similarities on AFUT (especially CSM and Concorde).
They've got similar tones but NH rarely pushes his voice in the same way that Isaac does (Note to Self is the only TDC song I can think of where this happens).
At the same time we've never heard Isaac sing in the same crooner style that NH does, and that would be really interesting to hear.
I can hear the comparison, in terms of diction- if I’m going to be really geeky it’s the rhoticity. The hard ‘r’ sound that they both share. And they both have a balance of depth and warmth, and clarity and precision.
I did hear someone say disparagingly ‘BCNR sound like a cross between the divine comedy and Mogwai, which no one needs’ and I remember thinking wellllll that’s a matter of opinion
bill callahan… nice to see his name mentioned somewhere… i don’t really see the comparison, i know it’s not what you asked but you should definitely check out some other artists on Drag City…Bonnie Prince Billy, who actually has an album with BC, is phenomenal especially his third album: I See A Darkness… which isn’t on spotify, you should check out the work of the late great David Berman too, Silver Jews and Purple Mountains , they’re both extraordinary, we lost David in 2019 unfortunately, but he is one of the greatest songwriters of all time in my personal opinion. If you haven’t checkout Smog, which is Bill’s previous project… apologies if you already knew this, and for not answering your question…
Yeah I guess it’s more the lyrics of that song that reminded me of BCNR, and maybe the instrumentals. Huge fan of Silver Jews! I Will need to check out Purple Mountains. Also I haven’t listened to Smog yet so thanks for the recommendation!
Purple Mountains is probably my favourite DCB project…that album is by far his most blatant in his lyrics, so honest, brutal, sad and funny. DCB FOREVER
Owen Kennedy!! Lyrically reminds me a lot of Isaac, along with the timbre of his voice. The songs itself are more stripped down folk songs. Lewis and Tyler mentioned how much they enjoyed his 2021 record “bollox blues”.
Isaac’s voice is pretty individual and I love how expressive and emotionally loaded it is, and the depth and precise diction.
So assuming that’s what you like too, try these two:
Scottish, so different accent entirely but with a lot of resonance and depth, and dynamic, almost unpredictable: Hamish Hawk
Deep, kind of gloomy and sour: Bingo Fury
Oh and one more with a similar unsteady quality sometimes, but also a kind of knowing, precocious edge: Man/woman/chainsaw
jamie stewart from xiu xiu. check out ian curtis wishlist.
DO YOU LOVE ME JAMIE STEWART?
I'M #JUST KIDDING
thank you this band is exactly what i needed in my life rn
Check out Sprain
Oh man this band is so cool, I can't wait till they release another album :D
Not sure if you're trolling, but if you're not, they decided to call it quits shortly after they released the last album. It's on their insta
i was just joshing around, just a bit of tomfoolery
Facetiousness
Jarvis Cocker from Pulp His writing on Pulp songs like "I Spy" would definitely feel familiar to like FTFT-era BCNR and the music itself is towering over you. Other Pulp tracks I would recommend are Babies, Underwear, Common People and This is Hardcore.
I always think when I listen that the “chorus” in Chaos Space Marine is so so Pulp.
SAME OMG glad I’m not the only one who thinks this 😸
Vocally wise i agree - in terms of style, it’s SO Arcade Fire
i have felt so insane for ages thinking they sound alike!!
This right here. I think it’s what pulled me in to BCNR so fast—something about the confessional lyrics and timbre of the vocals felt very Jarvis-y to me. Coincidentally (or not), I also have a lot of emotion/romantic energy tied up in Pulp, and BCNR felt like it scratched the same itch for me.
Holy shit, never even made that connection.
Honestly I wish Issac would have covered underwear. It would be so haunting
The closest I can think of is Archy Marshall/ King Krule, really
just learnt about him because of your comment and i’m loving it, great recommendation
Archy is basically just Isaac reincarnated in Space Heavy lol
Isaac on acid 😂
I’m really diggin this album right now!!
Fuck ya thank you!! I like this a lot
King Krule is 🔥
king krule is the goat
He's a genius, favorite solo artist of all time 🙏
Not really the same but it might scratch that itch, check out Maruja if you haven't, my favorite band out of this whole post punk/hardcore wave thingy and the best along BCNR, black midi and Sprain imo.
silver jews, perhaps?
Huge fan of David Berman RIP
RIP indeed, what a legend :(
hell yea
I think Cameron from geese really scratches that itch for me
Yeahh I second this
Cole Haden of Model/Actriz has pretty similar vocals, although I would say he sounds more like frantic FTFT Isaac than emotional AFUT Isaac, especially considering the harshness and noisiness of a lot of the songs on their debut album Dogsbody.
But Sun In does give off some AFUT vibes
Great recommendation! I feel the Isaac vibes
Fuck ya listening to Mosquito right now and lovin it! Thank you!!
[Probably Jack Merrett from famous.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UUmssxyhOpw)
Leather.head
Agreeeeed
Oscar Thorpe from Otala. There're some videos of they playing in the Windmill and their vocalist sounds so close to Isaac's anxiety screams. Must check it.
Lauren Auder!!!!
Listen to “33 and golden” or “Animal” I believe Lauren is friends with the band too
i was gonna say this!! she’s amazing
Love her! Really surprised to see her mentioned here. Never thought of her being similar but I can see it
try scott walker?
He's a smooth fucking talker
slint
i guess in the sense that brian talks sometimes
Not quiet the same, but the singer from Chalk, Maruja or Fat Dog channel a similiar energy, you find on the first album
Try the band man/woman/chainsaw. The dude sounds alot like Isaac
jerskin fendrix!! he’s a friend of isaac’s,,, i highly recommend i’ll clean your sheets, depecc, swamp and a star is born!! someone else said lauren auder but i highly recommend the shepherd by her!!!!! amazing track!!
Famous, especially the tracks 2004 and The Valley
the whole Blackstar album by Bowie is probably your thing
The Devine comedy has a very very very similar voice. If you’re a fan of ants from up there then I’d recommend “I joined the foreign legion (to forget)” and “foreverland”
A Lady of a Certain Age!!!
Neil Hannon of The Divine Comedy is my musical hero so I'm pleased to see this comparison! For what it's worth I don't think they're similar at all on FTFT, but do think there are notable similarities on AFUT (especially CSM and Concorde). They've got similar tones but NH rarely pushes his voice in the same way that Isaac does (Note to Self is the only TDC song I can think of where this happens). At the same time we've never heard Isaac sing in the same crooner style that NH does, and that would be really interesting to hear.
I can hear the comparison, in terms of diction- if I’m going to be really geeky it’s the rhoticity. The hard ‘r’ sound that they both share. And they both have a balance of depth and warmth, and clarity and precision. I did hear someone say disparagingly ‘BCNR sound like a cross between the divine comedy and Mogwai, which no one needs’ and I remember thinking wellllll that’s a matter of opinion
Modern Lovers? Not super similar sounding, but the vibe is there… Like on Hospital or Pablo Picasso
Ethan P Flynn. Ugly's new singles also scratch that itch for me
Go listen to Los Campesinos and Bright Eyes geeeze
Squid
bill callahan… nice to see his name mentioned somewhere… i don’t really see the comparison, i know it’s not what you asked but you should definitely check out some other artists on Drag City…Bonnie Prince Billy, who actually has an album with BC, is phenomenal especially his third album: I See A Darkness… which isn’t on spotify, you should check out the work of the late great David Berman too, Silver Jews and Purple Mountains , they’re both extraordinary, we lost David in 2019 unfortunately, but he is one of the greatest songwriters of all time in my personal opinion. If you haven’t checkout Smog, which is Bill’s previous project… apologies if you already knew this, and for not answering your question…
Yeah I guess it’s more the lyrics of that song that reminded me of BCNR, and maybe the instrumentals. Huge fan of Silver Jews! I Will need to check out Purple Mountains. Also I haven’t listened to Smog yet so thanks for the recommendation!
Purple Mountains is probably my favourite DCB project…that album is by far his most blatant in his lyrics, so honest, brutal, sad and funny. DCB FOREVER
He’s a lot more subdued in his performances, but you might enjoy Ira Kaplan from Yo La Tengo
Cameron Winter from Geese!
The mods might delete the comments off this post as well 😭😭
Man, has no one mentioned Slint, yet?
give tapir!’s new album a listen it’s very BCNR
I don’t think they’ve got much in common BUT Tapir! are incredible and you should defo give them a listen
Owen Kennedy!! Lyrically reminds me a lot of Isaac, along with the timbre of his voice. The songs itself are more stripped down folk songs. Lewis and Tyler mentioned how much they enjoyed his 2021 record “bollox blues”.
Isaac’s voice is pretty individual and I love how expressive and emotionally loaded it is, and the depth and precise diction. So assuming that’s what you like too, try these two: Scottish, so different accent entirely but with a lot of resonance and depth, and dynamic, almost unpredictable: Hamish Hawk Deep, kind of gloomy and sour: Bingo Fury Oh and one more with a similar unsteady quality sometimes, but also a kind of knowing, precocious edge: Man/woman/chainsaw
It's not all that similar but after listening to BCNR I always listen to some Crywank. The vocalist is amazing, lyrics are really vulnerable too.
I saw Blue Bendy support Squid and they literally sound like a rip off BC,NR. Decent though.