The Contrast are a guitar

power pop Power pop (also typeset as powerpop) is a form of pop rock based on the early music of bands such as the Who, the Beatles, the Beach Boys, and the Byrds. It typically incorporates melodic hooks, vocal harmonies, an energetic performance, and c ...

band based in

Peterborough Peterborough () is a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, east of England. It is the largest part of the City of Peterborough unitary authority district (which covers a larger area than Peterborough itself). It was part of Northamptonshire until ...

Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a county in the East of England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to the ...

, in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. They were formed in 1999 by David Reid and have since released five albums on the New York-based label

Rainbow Quartz Metal-coated crystals are artificial products made by coating crystals, such as quartz, with metal to give them an iridescent metallic sheen. Crystals treated this way are used as gemstones and for other decorative purposes. Possible coatings i ...

and two for Wicked Cool Records. Since the release of their second album '' Wireless Days'', their music has been regularly played by

Little Steven Steven Van Zandt (né Lento; born November 22, 1950), also known as Little Steven or Miami Steve, is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and actor. He is a member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band, in which he plays guitar and mandolin ...

on his

Underground Garage ''Underground Garage'' is the name shared by two related but different radio outlets, a syndicated show and a satellite radio station, both created and supervised by American musician Steven Van Zandt (best known as a guitarist in Bruce Springs ...

radio show. Little Steven once described them on air as "One of the best bands on the planet – and England too" and consequently invited them to play the Underground Garage Festival on Randall's Island in 2004. In May 2007, they released a new album called ''Underground Ghosts'' (also on Rainbow Quartz) that has since been regularly featured on Little Steven's Underground Garage show. A compilation of tracks from all of the Rainbow Quartz albums was released in 2007. This contains new and unreleased tracks and is the band's first release on Little Steven's "Wicked Cool" label. The band's song "Mystery #1" was featured on a Wicked Cool compilation album, ''The Coolest Songs In The World- Vol 2''. The Contrast's sixth album (the first full-length album for Wicked Cool Records and featuring

as executive producer), ''God of Malfunction'', was released on 13 April 2010.

Personnel

(2014-present)

The current line-up consists of: *David Reid:- vocals/lead guitar *Thorin 'Fozzy' Dixon:- drums *Richard Mackman:- bass/vocals *Simon Russell:- keyboards

Other members

*Kieran Wade:- guitar/vocals *Matthew Zilch:- guitar/vocals (2004–2006) *Andy Hawkins:- drums/keyboards/vocals (2005)
James Crossley
- drums (1999–2004) *Spencer Hart:- guitar/vocals (2000–2004)
Chris Corney
- bass/vocals (1999–2000) *Paul Blant:- drums (1999)

Collaborators

*Spike Smith:- drums (2005) *Jo Parsons:- drums (2004)

Discography

Albums

''Mystery #1'' (Rainbow Quartz, 2000)

#Perfect Disguise (3:56) #Short Term Memory (3:03) #57 (3:35) #She's Been Here Before (2:28) #You Never Listen (2:31) #Mystery No. 1 (2:58) #Mad Professor (3:38) #Falldown (3:39) #Independence (4:53) #Turn Off the Sun (2:47) #Publicity Stunts (4:19) #Bad Dreams (2:59) #Remember (3:51) #Friend for a Day (2:56)

''Wireless Days'' (Rainbow Quartz, 2002)

#Can't Stand the Light (3:12) #Wireless Days (3:05) #Fortune (4:09) #Mask (2:32) #What You Want (3:03) #Ansaphone (2:47) #Unfair Game (3:05) #Charlie Grey (3:20) #Drop Dead Gorgeous Love Song (4:01) #Late Train (3:07) #Cover (4:14) #Elvis Fix (5:34)

''Fade Back In'' (Rainbow Quartz, 2004)

#Give Me One More Chance (3:02) #George Zipp (2:45) #Forget It (3:53) #The Guilty Party (3:25) #Catch the Spark (3:04) #Your Starring Role (3:40) #Functional Punk Pop Song (2:21) #Something Tells Me (5:03) #Flatpacked (2:26) #Smart (2:35) #Everything Seems to Get Me (3:22) #Disconnected (2:33)

''Forget to Tell the Time'' (Rainbow Quartz, 2005)

#Caught in a Trap (2:42) #Forget to Tell the Time (2:47) #Different Again (3:39) #Ink (2:45) #Adversity (4:08) #Side FX (2:27) #Mean (3:04) #Someone Else's Logo (2:43) #Hold Your Fire (4:12) #Care (2:22) #Big Dark Nowhere (3:50) #Trying to Fill the Space (3:48) #What You Have Done (3:39) #Be There (4:10)

''Underground Ghosts'' (Rainbow Quartz, 2007)

#Everyone's A Sucker #My Peace Of Mind #I've Known Your Name Forever #What Do I know #Pocketful Of Fear #Clue #Blast Off In Primetime #Something Isn't #Breaking Promises And Hearts #Shine #Believe #The World Of Being Wrong

''Perfect Disguise: Introducing the Contrast'' (Wicked Cool Records, 2007)

#Mystery #1 #Mask #Unfair Game #World's So Different #Can't Stand The Light #Caught In A Trap #George Zipp #Perfect Disguise #Perfect Disguise (Acoustic) #Believe #How To Tell #Ansaphone #57 #Big Dark Nowhere #Disconnected #Mystery #1 (Acoustic)

''God of Malfunction'' (Wicked Cool Records, 2010)

#Underground Ghosts #Coming Back to Life #Take Me Apart #I Am An Alien #Gone Forever #God of Malfunction #Good Luck Charms #Better Than They Seem #She's A Disaster #Thought You Were Strong #Unexpected #False Admission

''A Sinister Flick'' (Angel Air Records, 2013)

#We Are The Monsters #Balloon Man #Mr Antenna #The Corndog King #Saving My breath #Heavens To Murgatroyd #Days Of Wonder #Doctor Strange #Johnny The Torch #Stick Man #A Sinister Flick #Mr Snake #Ghost Man #Incredible Girl #Maze Of Memories #There’s Always A Chance

''Madhouse of Inventions'' (Secret Shark Records, 2018)

#Bureaucrats #Madhouse of Inventions #The Holy Grail #Your Secret #Before This Caper Goes Down #The Vulture Squadron #What Do You Get #Pigless Head #Updates #Sinister London #Passion #Demons From Your Id #Atmosphere #River of Infra-Red Light #Intelligent Life #This Final Day

References

External links

Official home page
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Contrast, The English indie rock groups English power pop groups