Blur are an English rock band formed in London in 1988. The band consists of singer Damon Albarn, guitarist Graham Coxon, bass guitarist Alex James and drummer Dave Rowntree. Their debut album, Leisure (1991), incorporated the sounds of Madchester and shoegaze. Following a stylistic change influenced by English guitar pop groups such as the Kinks, the Beatles and XTC, Blur released Modern Life Is Rubbish (1993), Parklife (1994) and The Great Escape (1995). As a result, the band helped to popularise the Britpop genre and achieved mass popularity in the UK, aided by a chart battle with rival band Oasis in 1995 dubbed "The Battle of Britpop".
Nickelback is a Canadian rock band formed in 1995 in Hanna, Alberta. It is composed of lead guitarist and lead vocalist Chad Kroeger, rhythm guitarist, keyboardist and backing vocalist Ryan Peake, bassist Mike Kroeger and drummer Daniel Adair. It went through several drummer changes between 1995 and 2005, reaching its current lineup when Adair replaced Ryan Vikedal.
Brandon Richard Flowers is an American musician, singer, songwriter and philanthropist. He serves as the co-founder, lead vocalist, keyboardist, and occasional bassist of the Las Vegas-based rock band The Killers, which he formed with Dave Keuning in 2001.
Secret Machines are an American alternative rock band, originally from Dallas, Texas, United States, before moving to New York City. The original lineup consisted of two brothers, Brandon and Benjamin Curtis, and Josh Garza (drums). Benjamin left the band in March 2007 to focus on his work with School of Seven Bells, and was replaced on guitar by Phil Karnats. The re-activated band is a two-piece, with the remaining members being Brandon Curtis and Josh Garza.
The Maccabees were an English indie rock band, formed in 2004 in London. They released four albums: Colour It In in 2007, followed by Wall of Arms in 2009, Given to the Wild which was released on 9 January 2012 and their last album Marks to Prove It released on 31 July 2015. The band announced that they decided to disband in August 2016, with farewell gigs in 2017.
I-Empire is the second studio album by alternative rock band Angels & Airwaves. It was officially released worldwide on November 1, 2007 from the Angels & Airwaves website, where it was available for download. It was then released on CD on November 5 in the United Kingdom and Ireland, and on November 6 in the United States and Canada. It is their first album to feature Matt Wachter on bass.
White Lies are an English post-punk revival band from Ealing, London. Formerly known as Fear of Flying, the core band members are Harry McVeigh, Charles Cave, and Jack Lawrence-Brown (drums). The band performs live as a four-piece, when they are joined by Tommy Bowen.
Tonight: Franz Ferdinand is the third studio album by Scottish indie rock band Franz Ferdinand, released on 26 January 2009 through the Domino Recording Company. In contrast to their speedily-recorded second studio album, You Could Have It So Much Better (2005), the band chose to take some time off before recording a new album. Writing sessions began in early 2007 and recording took place in 2008 at the town hall of Govan, Scotland, and producer Dan Carey's studio in South London.
Here We Go Magic is an American indie rock band based in Brooklyn, New York. It was formed by core members Luke Temple, Michael Bloch and Peter Hale, in late 2008. The band signed to Western Vinyl in 2008, followed by the five-piece group's signing to Secretly Canadian in 2009.
Pigeons is second album from Brooklyn-based indie rock band Here We Go Magic and was released via Secretly Canadian in June 2010.
In Time To Voices is the third album by the Brighton, England-based rock band Blood Red Shoes, released on 26 March 2012 in the UK and Europe through V2 Records. The album was recorded and mixed in Autumn 2011 as a co-production with Mike Crossey, and was preceded by the singles "Cold" on 19 March 2012 and the title track "In Time to Voices" on 23 August 2012.
Days Go By is the ninth studio album by American rock band The Offspring, released on June 26, 2012, by Columbia Records. Produced by Bob Rock, it was the band's first album to feature drummer Pete Parada, who played on four songs and joined a year prior to the release of their previous album Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace (2008), and their last one to feature bassist Greg K. before he was fired from The Offspring in 2018. The band commenced work on Days Go By in 2009, with plans to release it in 2010. However, its release was pushed back several times while The Offspring continued touring and writing new material. The writing and recording process spanned three years and six recording studios and was finished in March 2012. During the recording sessions, the Offspring re-recorded "Dirty Magic", which serves as the album's ninth track.
Opposites is the sixth studio album by Scottish alternative rock band Biffy Clyro, which was released on 28 January 2013. A double album, Opposites was originally announced as a pair of albums, The Land at the End of Our Toes and The Sand at the Core of Our Bones, which later became the names of the individual discs of the album. The album features 20 songs across two discs. There is also a single disc version with 14 selected tracks. As of July 2016, the album has sold 260,720 copies in the UK.
Heartthrob is the seventh studio album by Canadian indie pop duo Tegan and Sara, released on January 29, 2013, on Neil Young's label Vapor Records through Warner Bros. Records. Heartthrob debuted at number 3 on the Billboard 200 chart, selling 49,000 copies in its first week and securing the band's highest chart position to date. It is also the first Tegan and Sara record to chart in New Zealand, the UK and Ireland. On July 4, 2013, Heartthrob was certified Gold in Canada. As of April 2016, Heartthrob has sold 199,000 copies in the United States.
The Magic Whip is the eighth studio album by English rock band Blur. It was recorded in Hong Kong and London, and released by Parlophone on 27 April 2015 and Warner Bros. Records on 28 April 2015. It was the band's first studio album in 12 years since Think Tank (2003), marking the longest gap between studio albums in Blur's career, and the first in 16 years since 13 (1999) to have featured the original line-up. The album also marks the return of the band's longtime producer Stephen Street following Blur (1997).
Know-It-All is the debut studio album by Canadian singer and songwriter Alessia Cara. It was released on November 13, 2015 through Def Jam Recordings. The album followed the release of her debut extended play (EP) Four Pink Walls (2015), which Cara regarded as a preview of the album. Know-It-All contains the five original songs from Four Pink Walls as well as five new songs recording for the album. Cara co-wrote all the tracks and worked closely with Pop & Oak and Sebastian Kole amongst others. The album led Cara to receive the Grammy Award for Best New Artist in 2018.
Blackstar is the 26th and final studio album by English musician David Bowie. It was released worldwide on 8 January 2016, coinciding with Bowie's 69th birthday, through his ISO label, Columbia Records and Sony Music. The album was primarily recorded in secret between the Magic Shop and Human Worldwide Studios in New York City with Bowie's longtime co-producer Tony Visconti and a group of local jazz musicians: saxophonist Donny McCaslin, pianist Jason Lindner, bassist Tim Lefebvre and drummer Mark Guiliana; guitarist Ben Monder joined the ensemble for the final sessions, while James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem contributed percussion. The album contains re-recorded versions of two songs, "Sue " and "'Tis a Pity She Was a Whore", both of which were originally released in 2014. It was preceded by the singles "Blackstar" and "Lazarus", both of which were supported by music videos. The album cover, designed by Jonathan Barnbrook, features a large black star with five star segments at the bottom that spell out the word "BOWIE".
Whitney is an American band from Chicago, which formed in 2015 and is signed to Secretly Canadian. The band was formed shortly after the breakup of members Max Kakacek and Julien Ehrlich's band Smith Westerns in late 2014. They released their debut album, Light Upon the Lake, in June 2016 and have toured internationally.
24K Magic is the third studio album by American singer-songwriter Bruno Mars. It was released by Atlantic Records on November 18, 2016. Mars reunited with Philip Lawrence and Christopher Brody Brown, who composed the album under their joint alias Shampoo Press & Curl. Mars enlisted new composers including the Stereotypes and James Fauntleroy. Recording sessions for 24K Magic took place between late 2015 and September 2016 at Glenwood Place Studios in Burbank, California.
Isabelle Rezazadeh, known by her stage name Rezz, is a Canadian DJ and record producer from Niagara Falls, Ontario. She released her debut EP, Insurrection in 2015 through OWSLA's sub-label Nest HQ. In 2016, she signed with record label mau5trap, and released follow-ups The Silence is Deafening and Something Wrong Here. On August 4, 2017, Rezazadeh released her debut studio album, Mass Manipulation, with its follow up, Certain Kind of Magic, released in 2018.
