Attic Lights

Scotland's Attic Lights drew broader attention during the mid-2000s through their hooky, guitar-driven anthems shaped by '70s power pop and folk-rock influences. After issuing a self-titled debut on Island Records, the group shifted to Spain's Elefant Records to release Friday Night Lights in 2008.

The band originated in Glasgow during 2005, when singer/guitarist Kev Sherry and singer/bassist Colin McArdle first connected as University of Glasgow students. They began composing material in McArdle's attic, which inspired the group's name, before guitarist/keyboardist Jamie Houston, guitarist Tim Davidson, and drummer Noel O'Donnell completed the lineup. Two favorably received EPs—The Attic Lights and Shiver the Trees—appeared by late 2006. These recordings, paired with consistent live performances, generated substantial interest and prompted favorable comparisons to Teenage Fanclub, Fountains of Wayne, and Weezer. The resulting momentum secured the band a prominent slot on the T-Break stage at the 2007 T in the Park Festival. A subsequent bidding war brought them to Island Records, where they delivered their debut album, 2008's Friday Night Lights, which included production help from Francis MacDonald (Teenage Fanclub, BMX Bandits, Camera Obscura) and arrangements by Björn Yttling (Peter Bjorn & John).

Extensive touring ensued, and in 2010 Jamie Houston departed, with producer/guitarist/keyboardist Jim Lang stepping in. Around the same time the band left Island and aligned with Spain's Elefant Records. Attic Lights resurfaced in 2013 with their second album, Super De Luxe, again featuring MacDonald's contributions. They kept developing new songs in the following years while Kev Sherry pursued separate ventures, among them releasing his comic book Warpaint in 2018. He simultaneously began work on a novel and his first solo album. The band's third studio album, Love in the Time of Shark Attacks, arrived in 2019.