Family of the Year

Los Angeles indie rock group Family of the Year crafts festival-ready material that blends Beach Boys-inspired male and female vocal harmonies with intricately structured, folk-tinged pop tunes reminiscent of Mates of State, the Head and the Heart, and Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros. Their breakthrough arrived in 2014 after the track “Hero” appeared in Boyhood, Richard Linklater’s innovative film tracing a young person’s journey to adulthood.

The band coalesced in 2009 around Welsh siblings Joseph and Sebastian Keefe, Florida native James Buckey, and Orange County, California resident Christina Schroeter. That September they issued their first EP, Where’s the Sun, through their independent Washashore label, then followed it later in the year with the full-length Our Songbook. The Through the Trees EP surfaced in 2010, and St. Croix arrived the next year.

Family of the Year issued their second album, Loma Vista, in 2012; it spotlighted the already mentioned single “Hero,” which achieved worldwide success. Their self-titled third record followed in 2013 and supplied another collection of melodic power pop alongside relaxed West Coast folk-rock. Greg Wells, known for work with Adele and Dua Lipa, produced the band’s next studio album, Goodbye Sunshine, Hello Nighttime, which reached stores in May 2018.