East Hundred

East Hundred, a Philadelphia outfit, crafts melodic pop/rock built on stacked guitars and synth textures that sits near the atmospheric style of Death Cab for Cutie, only with vocals reminiscent of the Cardigans’ Nina Persson. The project started as a trio in 2004 when brothers Brooke Blair on guitar and Will Blair on drums reached out to Brooke’s girlfriend at the time, Drexel University film student Beril Guceri—who had once asked the siblings to compose music for one of her film projects—to add vocals to tracks they had already recorded. She accepted, and the group took shape under the name East Hundred, borrowed from a modest parcel of family land the Blairs’ grandparents owned in rural Virginia. What began as a basement recording effort rather than a performing unit gradually shifted once Guceri overcame severe stage fright and the members began playing live shows. Several rough demos were refined into the band’s first EPs, the self-titled release that came out in April 2005 and Copper Street Performer, which followed in 2007. As touring increased, two longtime friends—keyboardist Susan Gager and bassist David Sunderland, the latter having moved to Philadelphia alongside Brooke and Will before the band existed—joined to expand the live sound; both remained permanently, establishing East Hundred as a five-piece. Recording sessions for the next album commenced in 2007, yet Guceri and Brooke soon ended their romantic relationship, which introduced tension within the group. Rather than halting progress, the resulting discomfort and emotional strain prompted additional songwriting, ultimately supplying enough material to expand the project from an intended EP into a full-length album. After East Hundred won the annual Philly Sound Clash battle of the bands in 2008, the completed album Passenger arrived in January 2009.