O Fracas were an English indie/

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...

band from Leeds, West Yorkshire. They originally formed in 2001 and were active until 2009. They are sometimes regarded as members of the New Yorkshire music scene and appeared regularly alongside other hotly tipped local bands including

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, The Pigeon Detectives and Wild Beasts. During promotional tours, the band supported

Mystery Jets Mystery Jets are an English indie rock band, formerly based on Eel Pie Island in Twickenham, London. The band consists of Blaine Harrison (vocals, guitar and keyboards), Jack Flanagan (bass and vocals), Kapil Trivedi (drums) and Henry Harriso ...

The Young Knives Young Knives are an English indie rock band from Ashby-de-la-Zouch, Leicestershire. The name is based on a misunderstanding of "young knaves", which was found by the band when rummaging through a book. The band was originally named Simple Past ...

and

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, also making appearances at Leeds Festival in 2005 and 2006.

Band members

Principal songwriter Ben Partridge (vocals and guitar) and guitarist Alex Farrar met at secondary school and played in an earlier incarnation of the band alongside James Burkitt (drums and piano) while still at school. Former Vatican Jet member Matt Flint (bass guitar and vocals) joined in 2007 and the line-up was completed in 2008 with the addition of Ben Farber (keyboards and percussion).

Career

Two singles were released on the Marquis Cha Cha record label before the release of their debut album. Their debut single, double A-side "Zeroes & Ones / What Jim Hears", was released in September 2005 followed by "Follow Sue" in April 2006. Both singles received glowing reviews from local and national press, including Leeds Music Scene, Artrocker, Fact Magazine and Drowned in Sound. Their debut album ''Fits & Starts'' was released on I Can Count Music in May 2008. It received 7/10 in ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'', describing it as an "engaging album of post punk, nutty folk and avant garde rock". The Guardian hailed the release as "the first great record of 2008". As regional winners of the Red Stripe Music Awards 2008, the band played at the national final at London's Kentish Town Forum. Their last major appearance was at Diesel's XXX Party in New York, alongside other British bands Hot Chip and Franz Ferdinand.

References

English indie rock groups Musical groups established in 2001 {{England-band-stub