While some people tend to avoid living in a world of black and white, California-based band The Neighbourhood embrace all things monochrome. The juxtaposition of light and dark influences everything from their lyrics, performance and even style. Their gleefully gloomy rock blends R&B, indie and hip-hop for a unique genre-crossing sound.
“I like to describe it as dark pop,” says singer Jessie Rutherford. “Our influences are anywhere from *NSYNC to Radiohead.”
Sticking with the theme of contradiction, this American-made group identifies with the British spelling of their name to distinguish themselves from an already established band. Despite abandoning the spelling of their home country, the band-name represents how the group came together in 2011, growing up in the same suburban neighborhood.
While still in their teens, The Neighbourhood generated serious online buzz with the mysterious release of their debut single ‘Female Robbery.’ Listeners became instantly intrigued when a search for any photos or biographical information on the group came up empty.
“We wanted that song to be the first look of the band,” Rutherford explains. “We didn’t want people to see or know anything about us, just the music.”
Since then, they have gone from strength to strength, releasing two EPS, I’m Sorry and Thank You, along with last year’s full-length album, I Love You. The titles refer to “phrases that get thrown around way too much by people who don’t really mean what they’re saying.”
The album’s lead single ‘Sweater Weather’ elevated the group into the limelight. The enigmatic hip-pop song topped the Billboard Alternative songs charts June last year for eleven non-consecutive weeks and went double-platinum.
“It was the first song we ever wrote as a band and the one that let us know we can be in a band that makes music that people wanna hear,” the singer says.
The band were especially popularized after their single ‘Honest’ was featured in The Amazing Spiderman 2, which premiered this April. A Chopped Not Slopped remix by Houston legend OG Ron C foreshadowed their recently released mixtape of remixes, #000000 & #FFFFFF, the HEX color codes for black and white.
The melancholic color scheme is a running thread for the group. Televised performances on Jimmy Kimmel Live and Live on Letterman were presented in black and white and Rutherford dismisses any notion of changing their aesthetics. “It’s so important to us!” he says. “Bands need more than just music for people to really attach to these days.”
The Neighbourhood’s success will take them to China for the first time, performing on August 8 at the Mixing Room & Muse. The singer admits he knows little about the country but notes, “I have no expectations, but we’re looking to playing in front of new fans and we’re going to try to give them the best performance we can.”
Touring is something that the band collectively revel in. They pride themselves on delivering atmospheric performances that value the importance of clothing, stage layout and videos as much as their music.
“One day we want to be remembered as the band that changed music in some way,” Rutherford says.
The success of I Love You will be a hard act to follow but the group are already collaborating on ideas for their next record. However, the singer is characteristically tight-lipped when asked for a preview.
“You’ll just have to wait and find out,” he demurs.
// Aug 8, 8pm-late, RMB280. Mixing Room & Muse, Mercedes-Benz Arena, 1200 Shibo Da Dao, by Yaohua Lu 世博大道1200号, 近耀华路 (400 821 3624, www.smartshanghai.com/smartticket
******************WIN!!!*******************************
We have a pair of tickets to The Neighbourhood to give away. Send an email to win@urbanatomy.com with the subject 'The Neighbourhood' by August 5.
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