English trio London Grammar combined sparse electronic pop in the model of the xx with dramatic, big-voiced lead singer Hannah Reid, whose vocals evoke contemporaries Florence Welch and Natasha Khan of Bat for Lashes. Reid and guitarist Dan Rothman met in the dorms of Nottingham University where they began writing music together in 2009 and later added multi-instrumentalist Dot Major to complete the lineup. The following years saw them refine their sound with atmospheric electronics and subtle percussion, and they often played to rooms of no more than ten people. Their popularity rose with the 2012 release of “Hey Now,” which they uploaded to the internet and instantly found an online cult following. Their fans were not just in the U.K., but also on the other side of the world in Australia, where their self-released 2013 debut EP, Metal & Dust, reached the Top 5 of the iTunes chart. The same year they signed to Ministry of Sound and the single “Wasting My Young Years” appeared as the first release on the label. 2013 also saw them play a sold-out show at the Islington Assembly Hall and make an appearance at the Great Escape Festival in Brighton. In September 2013 the trio released their eagerly awaited debut album If You Wait.
- via All Music
Darling Are You Gonna Leave Me?
Wasting My Young Years
London Grammar on iTunes.
