Radar Bros.

The L.A.-based Radar Bros. -- originally comprised of guitarist Jim Putnam (Medicine, Maids of Gravity), bassist Senon Williams (Dengue Fever), and drummer Steve Goodfriend -- debuted with a self-titled EP (Fingerpaint Records) and quickly garnered themselves a following in the U.K. By 1996, the band had signed to Restless Records and issued a self-titled LP that combined sonic guitarscapes and smoky melodies, earning Radar Bros. a slowcore/sadcore tag and aligning them with peers Acetone and Low (while evoking memories of Neil Young, Brian Wilson, and Pink Floyd). Singing Hatchet followed in 1999, and the band supported its release with tours across North America, the U.K., and Europe. Three years went by before their sun-drenched follow-up was released, but And the Surrounding Mountains was a Crazy Horse-meets-Pink Floyd record that brightened the Merge Records release schedule in the spring of 2002. The band subsequently chose to stick with Merge, releasing The Fallen Leaf Pages in 2005 and Auditorium (their first album with guitarist/keyboardist Jeff Palmer) in 2008.