TOP TEN BEST BEARDS IN INDIE

We hate pushing the seasons, but with “Mustache March” now well behind us, we’ve started ruminating on beard season here.  While, musicians have always rocked out playoff whiskers, the chin muffler has advantaged some, and been the demise of others. Think Dennis Wilson, and Jim Morrison, respectively (sorry Jim). But what about the indie beard? With such a long list of bands like Fleet foxes, Bon Iver, Beirut, Girls, Band of Horses, Iron & Wine, all sporting man manes, there seems an advantageous  link between the beard and the independent creative songwriting process that breeds better, more sensitive indie rock.  Sure, naysayers will argue the beard is creative poison and an expression of self-satisfaction declaring “i’ve given up”. But we think the beard reconnects indie musicians with their folk roots.  Whether sporting some civil war scruff, the queens brigade, a dangle-swaggler, wispy wiggin, twin peak, wandering jim, or a modified “claus”, the beard is a callback to the past; a declaration that some things, like good music, keep on keeping on.

In the spirit of beard rock, we’ve ranked in with our top 10 favorite beards in Indie Rock below. Let us know if we missed anyone.:

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Top 10 Beards in Indie Rock:

1. Alex Ebert (Edward Sharp and the Magnetic Zeros)

2. Tyler Ramsey (Band of Horses)

3. Sam Beam (Iron & Wine)

4. Doug Martsch (Built to Spill)

 

5. Devendra Banhart

6. Ben Birdwell (Band of Horses)

7. Tim Harrington (Les Savy Fav)

8. Dan Auerbach (The Black Keys)

9. Will Oldham (Bonnie Prince Billy)

10. Kyp Malon (TV On the Radio)