Five Bands We'd Like To See Come Off Hiatus Already (Or Again)

Dad-rock fans around the world are likely in sombre spirits following the news that venerated veteran outfit Foo Fighters are going on an indefinite hiatus. 

(Or maybe not, as it turns out, but this article was already written and the sentiment stands.)

It's a pairing of words sure enough to spark dread in the hearts of music lovers everywhere, many of whom have suffered long stretches of creative silence from bands they once loved and from whom they're waiting for one last golden release.

Sure, sometimes these breaks don't last — Fall Out Boy, blink-182, Mumford & Sons, Bloc Party and countless other acts have all reunited in reasonable time frames following the announcement of their intention to indefinitely part ways — but there are plenty of instances where dedicated fan bases are still waiting for a sign of revival from artists who left the spotlight too soon.

So, in the wake of Foo Fighters joining the bench roster, here are a few acts we'd like to see shake off the ring rust and venture back into our lives sooner rather than later.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs (hiatus 2014-present)

After releasing their fourth album, 2013's Mosquito, to largely positive reviews, it seemed New York indie-rock darlings Yeah Yeah Yeahs could do no wrong. This was a band that had pulled themselves up by the bootstraps from their origins as freshly acquainted college students, earning a reputation for rambunctious, riotous live shows defined by a ferocious energy that the band proved unnervingly adept at capturing on record. Even their third album, 2009's It's Blitz!, leaked early online, a surefire sign of street-level credibility by anyone's measure.

And then, once Mosquito hit, that was kind of… it. Frontwoman Karen O confirmed that the band had entered "a bit of a hiatus" in an interview with NME, and there they've stayed since. Individual members are remaining active — Karen O contributed I Will Rise to the Rise Of The Tomb Raider video-game soundtrack, while drummer Brian Chase keeps busy with Brooklyn psych-punks Beech Creeps — but there's been no sign of a likely return to activity any time soon.

Criteria (hiatus 2006ish-present)

The tale of the criminally under-appreciated Criteria — the former one-man show of ex-Cursive guitarist Steve Pedersen — is one of the most sympathetically frustrating stories in indie rock lore. After departing Cursive to pursue a law degree, Pedersen returned home to Omaha and, unable to find a band, wrote 2003's debut effort En Garde, one of the finest indie records you've never heard, all on his lonesome.

He then managed to recruit an actual line-up, ultimately following up with 2005's decent (but far less incendiary) sophomore, When We Break. Then, despite remaining a fixture of Saddle Creek's label roster for the next decade, the band hasn't done shit since.

Oh, sure, they played a few shows in 2012 and '13 and picked up live activity a bit in 2014, during which time Pedersen indicated there was a new album finally in the works, but, come on, that was almost three years ago now, guy. Get your shit together. (Please.)

scissor sisters (hiatus 2012-present)

Hey, you. There's no shame in loving a bit of ultra-glam indie-disco pop, OK? Debaucherous, dramatic, danceable — New York's Scissor Sisters were, if nothing else, at least one of the more interesting acts doing the rounds in the first decade of this millennium. They struck gold in 2004 with their debut self-titled full-length, consequently lighting up charts around the world with ensuing hits such as Filthy/Gorgeous and the temporarily inescapable I Don't Feel Like Dancin'.

However, a swift rise to the position of global indie-dance darlings, a gruelling live schedule and a consistent output of work (they released two albums in the three years leading up to the hiatus announcement — 2010's Night Work and 2012's Magic Hour) all conspired to ultimately see the band call time-out back in 2012, where they've stayed ever since. There have been consequent assurances from vocalist Ana Matronic that Scissor Sisters' split is not a permanent one, but the Magic Hour is long over and the time since we experienced it is only growing with every day.

silverchair (hiatus 2011-present)

Look, it's this, or Daniel Johns keeps releasing solo records.

Sunny Day Real Estate (hiatus 1995-1997, 2001-2009, 2013-present)

Influential second-wave emo outfit Sunny Day Real Estate seemed to perennially exist in varying degrees of turmoil over its existence. Such internal tensions were a primary feature of many bands of the scene's era, with peers such as Mineral, Braid and Jawbreaker all breaking up within a year or two of each other, in similar circumstances.

SDRE's original split saw half their line-up — bassist Nate Mendel and drummer William Goldsmith — depart for the Foo Fighters (Goldsmith ultimately left that band too, in 1997), and even though, as you can see from the dateline, they've since reconvened a couple of times over the years, their ultimate attempts at creating a fifth album have never quite carried through and they've been pretty much inactive for the past couple of years, so we're left hoping that, maybe now that Mendel has a little more time (he described the band in 2013 as "currently inactive", which at least isn't "dead and rotting"), some hatchets can be buried at last and something really, truly good can come of any time the Foo Fighters do end up taking off.

honourable mention: wolf parade (hiatus 2010-2016)

These guys would've made the list, but apparently they announced their return to touring and recording in January. Which, don't get us wrong, we're happy about, but you know how sometimes people mess with your plans and it's hard not to be annoyed with them a little bit because you had this whole thing laid out? It's that.