Drowners are an American-Welsh

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the mu ...

band formed in New York City in 2011 by Matthew Hitt (

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of t ...

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

), Jack Ridley III (

lead guitar Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featur ...

), Erik Lee Snyder (bass) and Daniel Jacobs (

drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a she ...

s)."Clash Interview"
Joe Zadeh, 'OTW #487: Drowners Revamped Brit Pop Garage', ''Clash Magazine'', March 20, 2013. Their first release was the EP ''Between Us Girls'' which appeared in early 2013. In January 2014 their debut album ''Drowners'' was released worldwide preceded by the single "Luv, Hold Me Down". In 2016, the band released their second album ''On Desire''. The band has toured both North America and Europe.

History

The band was formed when Welsh-born Matthew Hitt moved to New York City in 2011 to pursue a career in modelling. With a degree in English Literature, he found time to "write and jam on isguitar every day". He recruited three musicians and began rehearsing and recording the songs. Guitarist Jack Ridley is originally from the North West of the US while bass player Erik Snyder grew up outside Philadelphia. On February 4, 2013, Drowners released their first EP ''Between Us Girls'' on the English label Birthday Records. The EP contains three short songs, including "Long Hair", oft cited as the lead track. The band signed with a Frenchkiss Records, and began to record their first studio album in May 2013. The album was produced by

Gus Oberg Gus Oberg is a Swedish music producer and recording engineer. He is best known as the longtime engineer and a producer of American rock band The Strokes, for whom he has worked since 2009. Oberg is also a close collaborator of Strokes guitarist A ...

and Johnny T, while recording took place over a three-week period. It received mixed reviews. The band headed to Europe for the first time in February 2014 in support of their album, to perform a small number of London shows (including an in-store performance at Rough Trade East), and supported Cage The Elephant on their European tour and SKATERS on their UK tour. The band enlisted several drummers, including Joe Brodie, before settling on Daniel Jacobs. The band opened shows for Arctic Monkeys, The Vaccines and

Foals A foal is an equine up to one year old; this term is used mainly for horses, but can be used for donkeys. More specific terms are colt for a male foal and filly for a female foal, and are used until the horse is three or four. When the foal is ...

while undertaking their first headlining tour of North America and Europe in February/March 2014."2014 tour"
SongKick 2014 tour listings They later performed at the

Coachella Coachella may refer to: * Coachella, California * Coachella Canal, in California * Coachella (festival), an annual music and arts festival in California * "Coachella – Woodstock in My Mind "Coachella – Woodstock In My Mind" is a song by Ame ...

festival and supported

Temples A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...

. After two months of recording, the band had finalised their second album by Christmas 2015. In June 2016, the band released the album ''On Desire'' to mixed reviews. It was produced by Claudius Mitterndorfer and preceded by the single "Cruel Ways".

Discography

Studio albums

EP

* ''Between Us Girls'' (February 4, 2013, Birthday Records)

References

External links

*
Drowners bio in FrenchKiss Records
{{Authority control Alternative rock groups from New York (state) Indie rock musical groups from New York (state) Musical groups established in 2011 Frenchkiss Records artists 2011 establishments in New York City