Noisettes

Playing ragged but energetic garage-influenced indie rock with the ferocity of punk but with a soulful, bluesy edge, the Noisettes were founded by guitarist Dan Smith and singer/bassist Shingai Shoniwa, who previously worked together in the band Sonarfly. While the pair already had a working relationship, in the spring of 2003 they began getting together to write songs, and their new project fell into place when they met drummer Jamie Morrison, whose manic approach matched Smith and Shoniwa's brash, physical style but also left room for the latter's diva-gone-wild vocals. Adopting the name the Noisettes, the trio started playing out in late 2003, and in 2004 went into the studio to record a four-song EP, The Three Moods of the Noisettes. In early 2005, the disc was released by the U.K. independent label Side Salad Records and attracted the attention of a number of well-known British acts, including Babyshambles, Bloc Party, and Muse, all of whom invited the group to tour with them. The disc also found appreciative ears at Universal Music, which signed the Noisettes to an international deal in 2006, releasing their material through Motown/Vertigo in Europe and Mercury in the United States. The group's debut album, What's the Time Mr. Wolf?, was released in February of 2007. The band returned in March 2009 with the single "Don't Upset the Rhythm," which introduced the Noisettes' newfound pop polish and disco influences; later that spring the group's second album, Wild Young Hearts, arrived. The album was released in the U.S. that fall.