Switches were an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

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, consisting of members Matt Bishop (

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 ...

and

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 ...

), Ollie Thomas (

and

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are use ...

), Maxwell Tite (

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

) and James Gardiner pka Jimmy G (

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

Career

The band initially met whilst at university in

Guildford Guildford () is a town in west Surrey, around southwest of central London. As of the 2011 census, the town has a population of about 77,000 and is the seat of the wider Borough of Guildford, which had around inhabitants in . The name "Guildf ...

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

. When Matt was young, he wrote songs and made music in his

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

home. After meeting and befriending the other band members, they did some gigs and got publishing interest before finding a manager. Meanwhile, the boys where experimenting with different band names in order to "conjure something non-cliché, something simple and bold". They cite many artists as their main influences, all of whom can be see
here
They released their debut EP on Degenerate Records, entitled ''Message from Yuz'' on 10 July 2006. It was produced by Paul Schroeder. Their debut single (limited to 500 copies), "Lay Down the Law" appeared in September 2006. The band began recording their debut album in August 2006 at Sunset Sound Studios in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, where

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. Th ...

recorded some of his classic 1980s material. The album was recorded by

record producer A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure.Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...

Rob Schnapf Rob Schnapf is an American record producer and musician. He was the co-producer (along with Tom Rothrock) of Elliott Smith's albums ''Either/Or'', '' XO'' (on which he also played guitar on the song " Baby Britain"), ''Figure 8'' and ''From a ...

and engineer

Doug Boehm Doug Boehm (born November 4, 1969)''U.S. Public Records Index'', Vols 1 & 2 (Provo, UT: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.), 2010. is an American record producer and sound engineer who specializes predominantly in the rock music genre and has worked ...

. Switches toured with

The Rakes The Rakes were an English post-punk band formed in London in 2003. Their first album ''Capture/Release'' released in 2005, received a nine out of ten review in the ''NME'' and was rated 13th best album of the year in the same paper. The band ci ...

The Automatic The Automatic (also known as The Automatic Automatic in the U.S.) was a Welsh rock band. The band's last-known lineup was composed of Robin Hawkins on vocals, bass and synthesisers, James Frost on guitar, synthesisers, backing vocals and occas ...

Graham Coxon Graham Leslie Coxon (born 12 March 1969) is an English musician, singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and painter who came to prominence as a founding member of the rock band Blur. As the group's lead guitarist and secondary vocalist, Cox ...

and played the Reading and Leeds Festivals. The band released their second single 'Drama Queen', their first official release with

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most i ...

, on 29 January 2007. The band's debut album, '' Heart Tuned To D.E.A.D.'', was released on 23 April 2007, preceded by their second official single, a re-recording of "Lay Down The Law". The album reached No. 64 on the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts C ...

. The band made their Glastonbury debut in the summer of 2007, opening Saturday's Other Stage. At the start of 2008, Thom Kirkpatrick (bass) and Steve Godfrey (drums) replaced original members Max Tite and James Gardiner. Switches released their first American album, ''Lay Down the Law'', on 18 March 2008 upon completion of their US tour with New York-based band,

The Bravery The Bravery is an American rock band formed in New York City in 2003. The band consists of lead vocalist Sam Endicott, guitarist Michael Zakarin, keyboardist John Conway, bassist Mike Hindert and drummer Anthony Burulcich. They are best known ...

. As well as receiving modest critical acclaim in the US, the group had several songs from the album being featured in US television and films, including the track "Lay Down the Law", which was featured in the

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

, ''

Jumper Jumper or Jumpers may refer to: Clothing *Jumper (sweater), a long-sleeve article of clothing; also called a top, pullover, or sweater **A waist-length top garment of dense wool, part of the Royal Navy uniform and the uniform of the United State ...

'', but is not present on the soundtrack album. TV appearances include: ''The Album Chart Show'' (UK), ''Transmission'' (UK) and ''Jimmy Kimmel'' (US). The group disbanded in late 2008. Founding members Matt Bishop and Ollie Thomas have since formed the band Flash Fiktion.

Discography

EP's

*'' Message from Yuz'' 10 July 2006

Albums

*'' Heart Tuned to D.E.A.D.'' 23 April 2007 ( UK No. 64) *'' Lay Down the Law'' 18 March 2008 *'' Alternate Route To D.E.A.D.'' (A collection of demos and rarities)

Singles

External links

Switches on MySpaceMessage from Yuz – Switches single video (Released 10 July 2006)Drama Queen - Switches UK single videoLay Down The Law - VideoSwitches in Hollywood
caught in a

Terra Naomi Terra Naomi is an indie folk singer-songwriter, who rose to fame through a performance of her song "Say It's Possible" on the video sharing site YouTube. Originally from New York State, but currently based in Los Angeles, she writes and performs ...

video (1:05 into video) {{DEFAULTSORT:Switches English indie rock groups Musical groups established in 2005