Many in Gen Z have written off Millennials as “cringe.”
For some Zoomers, the generation before them’s happy-go-lucky disposition feels out of place in today’s increasingly online, doomerist culture.
Despite the backlash, early 2010s-style indie-rock has made a roaring comeback, driven by interest from Gen Zers. The Strokes, Vampire Weekend, Cults and The 1975 are suddenly soundtracking TikToks posted by younger folks indulging in Tumblr-era nostalgia.
INOHA, a four-piece band born and bred in San Antonio, is one of the unexpected success stories stemming from the trend.
If you have scrolled through Instagram Reels in the past year, there’s a good chance you encountered INOHA without even realizing it. The quartet’s first viral clip — now sitting at nearly 3 million views — shows lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Keanu Bicol standing in a shopping cart, lip-syncing the single “Seventh Heaven.”
INOHA’s path is distinctly Gen-Z, and its surge of online attention stemmed from the internet’s new cultural gatekeepers: TikTok, Instagram and Discord.
In part, that’s because the band’s quirky DIY videos, such as its promo for “Seventh Heaven,” are powered by the kind of passion and authenticity that can’t be manufactured. The clips stand in stark contrast to more polished videos posted by other bands.
“I think people resonated with the authenticity of the video,” said Gavin Gonzales, INOHA’s lead guitarist. “It wasn’t recorded on a 4K camera, just on an old Samsung phone. You can literally see the pixels. People found it refreshing not to have that HD quality.”
Paired with the song’s infectious tune, that clip and others that followed catapulted the band from local upstart status into being online faces of Gen Z’s indie-rock revival. That visibility came in handy for the band as it released its first album, ALOHA INOHA, in 2024.
“Music now is 90% marketing, 10% actual art,” INOHA drummer Ricky Juarez said. “Just because we have 150,000 people following us, that doesn’t mean 150,000 people are coming out to our show.”
That distinction between attention and investment is something the band caught onto quickly. Viral fame doesn’t always translate to bodies in a club, and it certainly doesn’t translate into longevity.
“We’re not just a band on the Internet that’s stuck behind the screen; you can see us in person. You can come to our shows. And we’ll actually play the music that you like,” Bicol said.
Just the same, the viral content did bring out crowds, which the band grew through constant touring. INOHA’s live shows have become rowdy affairs. Sometimes mosh pits break out like at hardcore shows, and kids and band members alike crowdsurf throughout the set.
The band thinks back fondly on a show in Orlando where the venue’s built-in crowd turned the night into the wildest show its members have ever played.
“We hopped in and started moshing early to get the energy flowing, and by the time we reached our set, it boiled over,” Juarez recalled. “Non-stop crowdsurfing, people jumping on each other, pits opening up. Even I was jumping off of stuff.”
San Antonio roots
Part of INOHA’s appeal is how determined the members are to keep their local connection. All four members — Bicol, Gonzalez, Juarez and bassist Chris Young — were raised in San Antonio.
Bicol and Gonzalez first played together in a high school band whose other members were chronically late to practice. While waiting, the two would jam, evolving into a “totally unserious side project” that eventually became their main focus.
Young joined after sliding into their DMs, and they met Juarez through a chance encounter at a record shop.
Their musical backgrounds vary widely, encompassing country, rap, dad rock, jazz, emo, pop-punk and more. That eclecticism increasingly shows up in the group’s songwriting. The new album This Might Be Useful, which dropped Sept. 4, is “all over the place,” by the members’ own admission.
The most recent singles, “Are We Cool” and “Everything Is Nothing,” blend raspy emo vocals, pop hooks, lovelorn lyrics and heavy indie rock guitar, suggesting INOHA has outgrown a single-genre label.
“I think that’s what I’m most proud of all, is the way that our music bridges a whole bunch of people from different niches of music together,” Juarez said.
If early-2010s indie was defined by a curated cool, INOHA’s rewrite is defined by sincerity. They reject the idea that artists should be aloof. Instead, the band prioritizes accessibility.
“If I love your music, I want to know — who are you?” Bicol said. “We’re silly … we love food … we’re just normal guys.”
That philosophy of sincerity has also guided their approach to social media, especially the band’s Discord server, which has become a hub for INOHA superfans. Members get early access to merch, tour dates and unreleased songs.
Juarez said he’ll sometimes answer emails at 2 a.m. while streaming a movie, and fans will hop in to watch at the same time.
It’s a far cry from the mystique that has seemed so central to artists’ brands in the past. But to the members of INOHA, it’s exactly what today’s fans want.
San Antonio has never been known as an indie-rock city, with its music scene instead favoring metal, punk, garage rock, Tejano and conjunto. And although these genres built strong followings, INOHA’s rise suggests the group is more than an anomaly.
The band’s accelerating success seems like a sign that the city’s younger musicians are carving out space in a genre that once felt coastal or inaccessible.
Next up?
The new album This Might Be Useful is a culmination of two years of nonstop writing, touring and learning how to keep pace with INOHA’s own momentum.
The band’s nationwide tour kicks off Saturday, Sept. 19, at Paper Tiger. The last San Antonio date came close to selling out, and this time, they’re aiming for a full house.
“Our ultimate goal is a completely sold-out headlining tour,” Juarez said. “Everything gone — VIP gone, general gone. That’s the dream.”
But the band’s ambitions go beyond ticket sales. They said they want longevity — a career that’s durable enough to outlive algorithms and nostalgia cycles.
“We’re always trying to grow and learn,” Gonzalez said. “Fix any leaky pipes, put out fires, figure out the next step. Even when we’re off tour, we’re working our asses off.”
And beyond that?
“My goal is to one day play with the Strokes,” Bicol said. “That’s the one.”
It’s a fitting, albeit audacious, aspiration for a group whose sound feels like a South Texan answer to the early aughts indie boom.
INOHA’s rise, though, is entirely of its own making. Instead of chasing New York cool, the act is building a brand rooted in scrappy attitude and San Antonio DIY ethos.
Texas politics is a mess. We make it a readable mess.
Sign up for San Antonio Current’s new “Texas Politics This Week” newsletter.
Sign Up for SA Current newsletters.
Follow us: Apple News | Google News | NewsBreak | Reddit | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | Or sign up for our RSS Feed
