Aaron Bruno, a Los Angeles native skilled as a singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist, launched AWOLNATION to fuse sharper edges of rock with electronic textures in a freely shifting style that stood apart from his earlier work in Home Town Hero and Under the Influence of Giants. The project broke through globally via the multi-platinum single “Sail,” followed by the 2011 debut album Megalithic Symphony. Later releases elevated the group’s profile, including the 2018 U.S. Indie chart-topper Here Come the Runts and the 2020 Alternative Top 20 entry Angel Miners & the Lightning Riders. AWOLNATION explored reinterpretations on the 2022 collection My Echo, My Shadow, My Covers and Me before issuing the Candy Pop EP in 2023.
Raised in Los Angeles, Bruno navigated the early-2000s industry first through the grunge-influenced alternative rock outfit Home Town Hero, active from 2001 to 2004, then shifted briefly to sleek funk-rock with Under the Influence of Giants, whose single album preceded their 2008 dissolution. Seeking distance from group dynamics, he sought an outlet for material unsuited to prior projects and adopted the name AWOLNATION, drawn from a childhood nickname, to create an unrestricted space that combined live instruments, electronic components, and polished production into an electro-rock blend.
After signing with Red Bull Records in 2009, Bruno and his collaborators released the Back from Earth EP in 2010. Although additional singles supported the release, “Sail” achieved worldwide traction, prompting the full-length Megalithic Symphony the next year. That album attained platinum status in the United States and double platinum in Canada, driven chiefly by “Sail,” which earned platinum certification internationally. In the following year the band offered the EP I’ve Been Dreaming as a free download via their site. January 2015 brought the U.S. alternative chart-topping “Hollow Moon (Bad Wolf),” the lead single from the sophomore album Run, issued that spring. Run reached the group’s highest Billboard 200 placement to date, entering the Top 20, while a cover of Bruce Springsteen’s “I’m on Fire” appeared on the Fifty Shades of Grey soundtrack.
Late in 2017 Bruno premiered the track “Passion,” the initial single from the third studio album Here Come the Runts, which arrived in February 2018. Crafted with a deliberately organic character, the set entered the Billboard 200 at number 20. After supporting Twenty One Pilots on the 2019 Bandito Tour, Bruno began writing the fourth album and, now affiliated with Better Music, unveiled the singles “The Best” and “California Halo Blue” in November. Co-produced by Bruno with contributions from Alex Ebert of Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros and Rivers Cuomo of Weezer, Angel Miners & the Lightning Riders appeared in April 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic. While isolating, Bruno turned promptly to the next project. The 2022 covers-and-collaborations release My Echo, My Shadow, My Covers and Me included his take on ABBA’s “Take a Chance on Me” and a reworked version of Scorpions’ “Wind of Change” featuring Portugal. The Man alongside Incubus frontman Brandon Boyd. The more electronic Candy Pop EP followed in November 2023, spotlighting the title song plus “Freaking Me Out” and “We Are All Insane.”
In 2024 the band delivered The Phantom Five, its fifth album and, according to Bruno, likely the final one. Preceded by the singles “Panoramic View” and “Jump Sit Stand March,” the record maintained the group’s eclectic approach and incorporated guest appearances from Del tha Funkee Homosapien and Dead Sara’s Emily Armstrong.
