Thirty greatest sibling acts in rock and roll history

20. PARQUET COURTS – ANDREW AND MAX SAVAGE

As with Greta Van Fleet, I had trouble finding anything from Parquet Courts that I liked more than “Stoned and Starving,” the Velvet Underground-inspired single from their second album. But when Wide Awake! came out in 2018, I had to admit the New Yorkers had evolved and were offering exciting new music that moved in multiple directions.

I’m not as big a fan of their last album, 2021’s Sympathy for Life, but I have to admit it’s not bad, and its exploration of propulsive dance anthems shows a band still growing.

19. BLACK CROWES – CHRIS AND RICH ROBINSON

This is a pretty common pattern for sibling bands. Older brother fronts and sings. Younger brother becomes a kick-ass guitar player. They burst onto the scene in 1990 playing a lot of top-flight throwback rock and roll on Shake Your Money Maker. Then, as I may have already mentioned, the brothers had issues.

It didn’t seem to bother them as they released two more dynamite albums in the early ‘90s. They have put out some good music since then, but I admit I would not have them ranked above some of the bands already mentioned if not for Happiness Bastards, released earlier this year after a long layoff. It may not be quite as dynamic as those first albums, but it comes pretty close. And it reminded us all of how well the Robinsons could rock.

18. ARCADE FIRE – WIN AND WILL BUTLER

Will left Arcade Fire in 2021 to pursue solo projects. One of them was composing the music for Stereophonic, which just won the Tony Award for Best Play. He was nominated for his musical score.

Meanwhile, his final album with brother Win was We, which was nominated for Best Alternative Music Album at last year’s Grammy’s. Arcade Fire can be an acquired taste, but when they are working at full capacity, as on 2010’s The Suburbs, they are one of the most musically and lyrically ambitious bands in the alt universe.

17. SKATING POLLY – KELLI AND KURTIS MAYO, AND STEPSISTER PEYTON BIGHORSE

The stepsisters began playing together when Kelli was nine and Peyton was 14. Kurtis joined on drums in 2017 and since then two additional albums have expanded their reach beyond punk into many offshoots. “Tiger at the Drugstore” is practically sunshine pop while “Singalong” is flat-out post-hardcore.

Many of their songs shift between genres in the space of a few bars of music. In general, Kelli sings the harder-edged screamers while Peyton handles the more melodic numbers. But, just as they are apt to trade instruments in the middle of a set, they occasionally venture into each other’s vocal area as well. It all adds up to one of the best young rock & roll outfits at work today.