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We love a lot of indie rock music, but the guys who play it are often longer on talent that they are on looks. Case in point, this gallery of awesome dude musicians who kind of look like ladies of a certain age.

Cruel -- or eerily accurate? You tell us.



Indie Dude or Ugly Lady?

    Beck: The singer-songwriter may fool you into thinking he's a butter-churning Amish dame, but his synthesis of rock, blues, funk, and every other genre under the sun has made him an indie rock staple. Recent effort "Modern Guilt" is a minimalist 60's psych rock trip produced by Danger Mouse and features guest vocals from Cat Power. How's that for raisin' the barn?

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    Bradford Cox: Madonna sure seems to have lost her curves and grown a few feet. Damn Kabbalah. But breathe easy, material girls--it's only lead singer of Deerhunter and mastermind of Atlas Sound. Awkward, maybe. Lanky, yes. But Cox and his band can churn out shoegaze punk like no other. Look out for "Microcastles" later this year.

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    Devendra Banhart: Sorry to disappoint--we haven't discovered the first guitar-weilding bearded lady. It's the eclectic freak folk artist that's literally charmed the pants off of Natalie Portman with his impeccable eyeliner. His gender-ambiguous name and eccentric music are confusing, yes, but "Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon" was considered one of the top albums of 2007.

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    Chris Walla: Delicate and pensive like a fresh violet pansy, it's excusable to mistake Death Cab for Cutie guitarist for the sex with a higher emotional IQ. Walla's lush instrumental arrangements and literate, hopelessly romantic sensibilities have contributed to the band's not-so-fragile success, especially on their latest album, "Narrow Stairs".

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    Conor Oberst: Your soulful eyes, your quavering voice, your poignant lyrics--it's enough to make an indie chick swoon. That is, unless you look like an indie chick with split ends and a coke-fueled pallor. Thank God your first trip to the barber in years coincided with the release of the first album from your solo project with the Mystic Valley Band. Indie chicks, re-commence swooning.

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    Ben Kweller: Don't let the long hair and girlish gaze trick you--he is all man. With songs named "Fight" and "Sawdust Man" on his newest album due out in January, "Changing Horses", Kweller has transitioned from a pop/punk/folk Dashboard Confessional-type to a gritty musician and solidified his, uh, manhood.

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    Dave Monks: While the fashionable scarf and peacoat screams more Sex and the City than rock star, the Tokyo Police Club singer and bassist embodies the intellectual nature of indie music (exhibit A: a song called "Tessellate"). With the recent release and critical acclaim of their first LP, Elephant Shell, expect more verbose lyrics. And, maybe, Burberry scarves.

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    Evan Dando: Though he may look like a midwestern housewife, there's nothing mild-mannered about the frontman of The Lemonheads. Dando and his band fearlessly straddled rock, country, metal, and punk with positive results in both the underground and mainstream. After disappearing for years,he and a new Lemonheads lineup have re-emerged and will be releasing a new album in 2009.

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    Nick Thorburn: He might have a penchant for white face paint and a womanly aesthetic, but with his numerous musical projects, he creates shockingly dark indie mash-ups of all genres. Whether it's with either of his current bands--Islands and Human Highway--Thorburn never fails to put on an intensely dramatic show. Just listen to Islands' new album, "Arm's Way".

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    Ezra Koenig: Even with prep-school outfit and a mom haircut, Koenig manages to establish truckloads of credibility with his band, Vampire Weekend. A little Ivy League music mastery here, a little Paul Simon's "Graceland" there, and you get indie magic and nationwide praise. Currently, SPIN's "Best New Band" is touring the world, participating in every music festival fathomable.

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