Black Box Recorder

All Music Guide:

Black Box Recorder included Auteurs main man Luke Haines, former Jesus and Mary Chain member John Moore, and vocalist Sarah Nixey. Like the Auteurs, Black Box Recorder's songs commented on the state of English affairs, both social and personal, often using character sketches that exposed the less-than-pleasant with sharp frankness and simplicity. Domesticity and childhood themes often ran through their albums. Coming together in 1998 as Haines kept his primary vehicle operable, the trio introduced themselves with their first single ("Child Psychology") being banned from U.K. radio for the line "Life is unfair/Kill yourself or get over it."

The full-length England Made Me followed later in the year, establishing Moore and Haines as a songwriting team that excelled at getting its points across with the least amount of instrumentation necessary. Raw and minimal but still perversely pop, Nixey's detached and fragile-yet-rich voice (usually kept up front in the mix) provided the ideal characteristics for their songs. Imagine a sober, somber, dub-influenced version of the Velvet Underground with an elegantly smooth Nico singing on top.

Jumping ship from Chrysalis to Nude for 2000's The Facts of Life, the first single from the album surprisingly went Top 20, providing Haines with the highest chart position of his career. Despite this, Haines made no bones about his disdain for Nude within a week of the chart placement, feeling that they dropped the ball after being handed it on a silver platter. Artistically, The Facts of Life was a superb follow-up, incorporating electronic elements without sounding anything like a trip-hop or Garbage-style dance-rock group. The Worst of Black Box Recorder, a collection of the trio's B-sides, came the following year.

After a lengthy break aided by Nude's downfall, as well as two solo releases from Haines, the group landed on One Little Indian for 2003's Passionoia. WIthout forsaking their knack for subversion, the group returned with their most ornate batch of songs yet, several of which were as poppy as anything recorded by Saint Etienne. Prior to the album's release, Nixey and Moore tied the knot.

Wikipedia:

Black Box Recorder were an English indie rock group. They debuted in 1998 with England Made Me and followed this up with The Facts of Life, which gave them their first hit with the single of the same name in April 2000. Their third album, Passionoia, was released in 2003. There is also a compilation album, The Worst of Black Box Recorder, a collection of B-sides, cover versions and remixes.

Musically, the group was influenced by ambient music, English Rock and Roll and French electronic groups such as Air. However the lyrics to these lush and romantic melodies are frequently bleak, ironic or sarcastic: obvious influences are Ray Davies, Morrissey, and Pulp. The video for single "The Art of Driving" depicted the band as crash test dummies.

Black Box Recorder were Sarah Nixey, Luke Haines (of The Auteurs), and John Moore (formerly of The Jesus and Mary Chain). Moore and Nixey married in 2001, and have one child, although they were divorced in 2006.

Although no official announcement of the band's split was announced, Black Box Recorder was on hiatus during the mid 2000s. The band collaborated with Art Brut during 2007, and released the single "Christmas Number One" under the name The Black Arts. In October 2008 the band played live at the Nick Sanderson (Earl Brutus, The Jesus And Mary Chain) tribute concert at The Forum, London.

In late 2008 it was announced that the band would be playing a gig at The Luminaire, Kilburn, London on 18 February 2009. The gig quickly sold out, and a second appearance at the same venue announced. These sold out shows were the band's first headlining appearances in five years.

Although an album was planned for 2009, the record never was released. On April 16, 2010, the band announced it would split after releasing a final single, Keep It in the Family" b/w "Do You Believe in God?" on May 6, 2010.