The Naked and Famous

Perhaps the most significant band to come out of Auckland's MAINZ music college, The Naked and Famous made quick waves in New Zealand and took their tuneful electronic pop worldwide. Singer/keyboardist Alisa Xayalith and singer/guitarist Thom Powers began collaborating when both were students in 2007; Powers had played in rock bands and Xayalith, who came from an immigrant family, was raised on Laotian folk music. The pair began recording with engineer Aaron Short who soon joined the group on keyboards; after working briefly with a different rhythm section they completed the lineup with bassist David Beadle and drummer Jesse Wood. The band's name was taken from a lyric by Tricky, who in turn had borrowed it from '90s band the Presidents of the United States of America. While two initial EPs got indie attention, the 2010 single "Young Blood" was their breakthrough. With its lush production and instantly hummable chorus, the single was an immediate hit at home, debuting at Number One in New Zealand and seeing numerous covers including reggae versions. (The song would have a second and third life in film and TV soundtracks and in commercials; it ultimately sold everything from energy drinks to alcoholic cider.) The BBC picked up on them soon after as the band released its first album Passive Me, Aggressive You and toured throughout Europe. After playing their first US shows the band moved to LA, settling in the music-history filled Laurel Canyon. The sound appropriately grew more organic; the second album In Rolling Waves was live-band oriented with more acoustic guitar. 2014-16 proved a transitional stage for the band, whose visibility grew as they played Coachella and other festivals. But in early 2016 Xayalith and Powers ended their eight-year romantic relationship. That year's Simple Forms would effectively be their Rumours, channeling the pain of the breakup into emotive pop songs, written and recorded more quickly than anything they'd done before and largely made in Powers' home studio.