Artists whose indie work out-does their preceding major label stuff

It's regarded as something of a given that most artists who create some great music on the indie labels will end up creating weaker music once they sign to a major label. Tom Violence started a thread, not long ago, about artists who are the exceptions to that rule.

How about artists who go the other direction — who start out on a major label, and then end up creating much stronger music when they leave the major and start recording on an indie?

The examples may be few, but I'm sure they're out there. MX-80 comes to mind. The band signed to Island in the '70s, but its lone album on that label, Hard Attack, sounds kind of unfocused, compared to its next album, Out of the Tunnel, on Ralph Records.

I don't know it it's stronger, but Even Dando has released some pretty strong work in relative obscurity. Same for Lloyd Cole. (Both with Massachusetts links, to keep up the Celtics theme.)

I'd nominate Nada Surf.

I always thought Pell Mell was a pretty bizarre major label signing and they only lasted for one album (I don't know who dumped whom). But when they jumped back to Matador for what now appears to have been their last album (Star City), they put out their best one yet. But the major label album was pretty great too, so they don't really fit the question here, I guess.

lemonheads

Rocket From the Crypt.
Bob Mould (SUGAR and "Body of Song")
Pere Ubu ("Waiting for Mary" was a good tune, but otherwise works like "St. Arkansas" better much bury that period)