The difference, by ear
The Strokes and the Hives take as much from the Stooges and the Velvets as from 1965, which is why the revival is heavier than its models.
Both are sung cleanly and move at much the same pace, around 140 to 180 bpm. To hear the difference, play The White Stripes next to The Stooges. Both grew out of garage rock, proto-punk first and garage rock revival 33 years after. Detroit and New York appear in the origins of both.
In figures
Garage rock revival
Where it sits
Rock › Rock and roll › Garage rock › Garage rock revival
In short
A reaction to nu metal and radio pop: crisp guitars, plain production, narrow suits. It put guitar rock back on festival bills in the 2000s.
How it sounds
- Deliberately plain production: few tracks, raw guitar tone, no click track.
- Short riffs from blues or 1960s garage, wrapped in pop structures.
- A strict visual code - a colour scheme or a uniform for each band.
Key acts
- The White Stripes
- The Strokes
- The Hives
Start here
The pickThe Strokes - Is This It. Thirty-six minutes without a gram of fat.
Full page →Proto-punk
Where it sits
Rock › Rock and roll › Garage rock › Proto-punk
In short
Garage rock turned hostile and repetitive, with noise and nihilism. Nobody called it punk yet, but everyone at CBGB copied from it.
How it sounds
- A repetitive, near-hypnotic riff held without development - the opposite of blues rock soloing.
- Spoken or shouted vocals delivered with calculated contempt.
- Noise, feedback and lyrics about boredom, drugs and urban alienation.
Key acts
- The Stooges
- MC5
- The Velvet Underground
- New York Dolls
Start here
The pickThe Stooges - Fun House. The sound of a band self-destructing in real time.
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