The Pacific Northwestern trio Dude York formed in the early 2010s and quickly started bashing out punky, poppy guitar rock. After a few years of fooling around, they coalesced while living in Seattle and released the home-recorded, very lo-fi album Gangs of Dude York in early 2011. The band spent time playing shows and working on their second album, 2014's Dehumanize, and first for the Help Yourself label. It was recorded in a studio and found Dude York moving away from their noisy beginnings toward a more focused, '90s alternative-inspired sound. 2016's Sincerely showed the band fully embracing the power of the recording studio and channeling the power-chord-heavy, lighthearted sound of '90s bands like Weezer and the Rentals. ~ Tim Sendra