Biography
Atlas Genius produces hook-laden, angular synth rock shaped by the likes of Phoenix, Beck, and the Beatles. Rather than building slowly, the Adelaide-formed group surged forward when their debut single “Trojans,” issued in 2011, appeared on a blog and immediately triggered tens of thousands of downloads, a recording contract, and, over subsequent years, hundreds of millions of streams. The track carried the band’s first album, When It Was Now, into the Billboard 200’s Top 40 upon its 2013 release. Their next LP, Inanimate Objects, arrived in 2015 and settled in the lower half of the Billboard 200 while still reaching the alternative Top 20. After a stretch of intermittent touring and scattered singles, the outfit waited almost ten years before unveiling its third album, End of the Tunnel, which resurfaced their familiar style in 2024.
The project originated with brothers Keith Jeffery on vocals and guitar, Steven Jeffery on bass, and Michael Jeffery on drums, along with English keyboardist Darren Sell. Raised in a household steeped in music—their engineer father and Beatles-devoted mother urged the siblings to start a band—Atlas Genius spent 2009 through 2011 constructing a home studio and performing covers to cover expenses. Once the studio stood ready, they tracked “Trojans” as their first original piece. Uploaded in May 2011, the song caught the ear of the Neon Gold blog, prompting enthusiastic responses from listeners and labels alike, more than 45,000 U.S. downloads before any contract, and later airplay on MTV’s 120 Minutes and Sirius XM’s Alt Nation. Early in 2012 the remaining trio of Keith Jeffery, Michael Jeffery, and Sell traveled to the United States to choose a label; they ultimately joined Warner Bros., which issued the EP Through the Glass that June. Their self-produced debut album When It Was Now followed in February 2013, cracked the Billboard 200 Top 40, and sparked extensive touring plus numerous late-night television spots. After pausing live work in 2014, the band resurfaced in mid-2015 without Sell. Recorded in Adelaide and Studio City, California, with co-writer and producer Frederik Thaae, Inanimate Objects appeared on Warner Bros. in August 2015, peaked at number 150 on the Billboard 200, and landed inside the Top 20 of the alternative chart and the Top 30 of the rock chart.
Steven Jeffery rejoined in 2017, guitarist Dave Green came aboard the same year, and the expanded lineup toured with Magic Giant and Flor while releasing the single “63 Days.” Subsequent tracks “Can’t Be Alone Tonight” (2019) and “Elegant Strangers” (2021) joined that earlier release on the independently issued third album End of the Tunnel, which Frog Head Records launched in September 2024 around the same time Warner reissued the debut album on limited-edition vinyl.
The project originated with brothers Keith Jeffery on vocals and guitar, Steven Jeffery on bass, and Michael Jeffery on drums, along with English keyboardist Darren Sell. Raised in a household steeped in music—their engineer father and Beatles-devoted mother urged the siblings to start a band—Atlas Genius spent 2009 through 2011 constructing a home studio and performing covers to cover expenses. Once the studio stood ready, they tracked “Trojans” as their first original piece. Uploaded in May 2011, the song caught the ear of the Neon Gold blog, prompting enthusiastic responses from listeners and labels alike, more than 45,000 U.S. downloads before any contract, and later airplay on MTV’s 120 Minutes and Sirius XM’s Alt Nation. Early in 2012 the remaining trio of Keith Jeffery, Michael Jeffery, and Sell traveled to the United States to choose a label; they ultimately joined Warner Bros., which issued the EP Through the Glass that June. Their self-produced debut album When It Was Now followed in February 2013, cracked the Billboard 200 Top 40, and sparked extensive touring plus numerous late-night television spots. After pausing live work in 2014, the band resurfaced in mid-2015 without Sell. Recorded in Adelaide and Studio City, California, with co-writer and producer Frederik Thaae, Inanimate Objects appeared on Warner Bros. in August 2015, peaked at number 150 on the Billboard 200, and landed inside the Top 20 of the alternative chart and the Top 30 of the rock chart.
Steven Jeffery rejoined in 2017, guitarist Dave Green came aboard the same year, and the expanded lineup toured with Magic Giant and Flor while releasing the single “63 Days.” Subsequent tracks “Can’t Be Alone Tonight” (2019) and “Elegant Strangers” (2021) joined that earlier release on the independently issued third album End of the Tunnel, which Frog Head Records launched in September 2024 around the same time Warner reissued the debut album on limited-edition vinyl.
Albums
End Of The Tunnel
2024
On A Wave / Don't Let Love Be A Stranger
2024
Nobody Loves Like You / Romans
2024
Inanimate Objects
2015
When It Was Now
2013
So Electric: When It Was Now (The Remixes)
2013
Through the Glass EP
2012
Singles
