Squeeze are an English pop rock band that came to prominence in the United Kingdom during the new wave period of the late 1970s, and continued recording in the 1980s, 1990s and 2010s. In the UK, their singles "Cool for Cats", "Up the Junction", and "Labelled with Love" were top-ten chart hits. Though not as commercially successful in the United States, Squeeze had American hits with "Tempted", "Black Coffee in Bed", and "Hourglass", and were considered a part of the Second British Invasion.
Soft Cell are an English synth-pop duo who came to prominence in the early 1980s. The duo consists of vocalist Marc Almond and instrumentalist David Ball. The band are primarily known for their 1981 hit version of "Tainted Love" and their platinum-selling debut album Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret.
Franz Ferdinand are a Scottish rock band formed in Glasgow in 2002. The band's original line-up was composed of Alex Kapranos, Nick McCarthy, Bob Hardy and Paul Thomson. Julian Corrie and Dino Bardot joined the band in 2017 after McCarthy left during the previous year, and Audrey Tait joined the band after Thomson left in 2021. The band is one of the more popular post-punk revival bands, garnering multiple UK top 20 hits. They have been nominated for several Grammy Awards and have received two Brit Awards—winning one for Best British Group—as well as one NME Award.
Riverside are a Polish progressive rock band from Warsaw. They were founded in 2001 by friends Mariusz Duda, Piotr Grudziński, Piotr Kozieradzki and Jacek Melnicki, who shared a love for progressive rock and heavy metal, although Duda, the main lyricist and composer of the band, was originally a fan of electronic, ambient, experimental music, like Radiohead, Massive Attack, Dead Can Dance, Tangerine Dream, Peter Gabriel, and later on, prog rock like Pink Floyd, Rush, Tool, Marillion, as well as thrash metal. Riverside can be described as a blend of atmospheric rock and metal elements, resulting in a sound similar to that of Porcupine Tree, and Pain of Salvation.
Wild Beasts were an English indie rock band, formed in 2002 in Kendal. They released their first single, "Brave Bulging Buoyant Clairvoyants", on Bad Sneakers Records in November 2006, and subsequently signed to Domino Records. They have released five acclaimed albums, Limbo, Panto in 2008, Two Dancers in 2009, Smother in 2011, Present Tense in 2014 and Boy King in 2016. Two Dancers was nominated for the Mercury Prize.
Blood Red Shoes are an English alternative rock duo from Brighton consisting of Laura-Mary Carter and Steven Ansell. They have released six full-length albums, Box of Secrets (2008), Fire Like This (2010), In Time to Voices (2012), Blood Red Shoes (2014), Get Tragic (2019) and Ghosts on Tape (2022) as well as several EPs and a number of singles. In 2014, they founded their own label, Jazz Life.
The Ting Tings are an English indie pop duo from the UK. The band consists of Katie White from Lowton, Greater Manchester and Jules De Martino from West Ham, London.
Empire of the Sun is an Australian electronic music duo formed in 2007. The duo is a collaboration between Luke Steele, of alternative rock band The Sleepy Jackson, and Nick Littlemore, of electronic dance band Pnau.
Everything Everything are an English art rock band from Manchester that formed in late 2007. Noted for their eclectic sound and complex, avant-garde-inspired lyrics, the band has released seven albums to date — Man Alive (2010),Arc (2013),Get to Heaven (2015),A Fever Dream (2017),Re-Animator (2020), Raw Data Feel (2022) and Mountainhead (2024) — and has been widely critically acclaimed. Their work has twice been shortlisted for the Mercury Music Prize and has received five nominations for Ivor Novello Awards.
San Cisco is an Australian indie pop band that formed in 2009 under the original name of King George, in Fremantle, Western Australia. The band are a three-piece, and currently consists of Jordi Davieson, Josh Biondillo and Scarlett Stevens. Davieson and Biondillo share duties on keyboards. In November 2011, the band was signed by Albert Productions, but moved to Island Records for the release of its debut album. In October 2012, the band described its 'vibe' as "squelchy, crispy, streamlined, hairy, indie". At the ARIA Music Awards of 2013 the group were nominated for Best Independent Release and Best Dance Release for the album; and Best Video for "Fred Astaire", which was directed by Andrew Nowrojee.
The Wytches are an English rock band formed in 2011 in Peterborough. Following their formation, the band were based in Brighton. The band currently consists of singer-songwriter Kristian Bell, bassist Daniel Rumsey, keyboardist/guitarist Mark Breed and drummer Demelza Mather. Former drummer Gianni Honey left the band in 2019.
The Garden is an American experimental rock band from Orange County, California, formed in 2011 by twin brothers Wyatt and Fletcher Shears. The duo released their debut album The Life and Times of a Paperclip in 2013, with several smaller releases following. In 2015, the group released their second studio album Haha along with the lead single "All Smiles Over Here :)" to critical acclaim after being signed to Epitaph Records. The brothers have toured across the US, Europe, United Kingdom, China, Japan, New Zealand, Australia, Canada, Mexico, and in 2019 and 2023, they appeared at Coachella.
Vant are a British indie rock band formed in 2014 by frontman and songwriter Mattie Vant. In 2015, Vant signed to Parlophone Records. The band announced an "indefinite hiatus" in 2017 to take effect at the end of their Last Days of Punk tour during November. The band released a new song, "Propaganda Machine" in December 2018 and teased new music in 2019.
Are You Satisfied? is the debut album of English punk duo Slaves. It was released on 1 June 2015. It reached number 8 in its first week on the UK Albums Chart. The album was nominated for the 2015 Mercury Music Prize. A deluxe edition was released on 13 November 2015 which featured their single "Where's Your Car Debbie" and one of its B-sides, 3 songs from their "Sugar Coated Bitter Truth" EP, 2 tracks from BBC Radio 1's Live Lounge and other new songs.
Take Control is the second studio album by English punk rock duo Slaves, released on 30 September 2016. The album was produced by former Beastie Boys member Mike D, who also makes a guest appearance on the song "Consume or Be Consumed". Lead single "Spit It Out" debuted at number 37 on the UK Rock & Metal Singles Chart upon its initial release, later re-entering at number 28.
Skegss are an Australian surf and garage rock duo trio originally from the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales, who formed in 2014. The band's line-up consists of Jonny Lani (drums) and Ben Reed.
Derek Tyler Carter is an American musician and songwriter from Habersham County, Georgia. Carter began his musical career performing drums in local bands in Atlanta. Following his underground success, he joined metalcore outfit Woe, Is Me, releasing their debut studio album, Number[s], in 2010, in which he left the following year.
Acts of Fear and Love is the third studio album by English punk rock duo Slaves, released on 17 August 2018. It was the final studio album released by the band before they changed their name to Soft Play in 2022.
"Momentary Bliss" is a song by British virtual band Gorillaz, featuring British rapper Slowthai and the Kent-based punk rock duo Slaves. The song was the first song to be released for Gorillaz' Song Machine initiative, a web series consisting of singles and music videos released over the course of the year from the band, with each episode featuring different guest musicians on new Gorillaz material, and is the first single released for their seventh studio album, Song Machine, Season One: Strange Timez. This was the final single before Slaves changed their band name to "Soft Play".
The Velvet Ditch is the second EP by English punk rock duo Slaves, released on 18 July 2019. It was the band's final release before they changed their name to Soft Play in 2022.
