In the summer of 2003, Liverpool residents Paul Rafferty and Matthew Smith established the British trio Hot Club de Paris while both held part-time jobs tending bar at a local racetrack. Already active in separate bands, the pair recognized overlapping musical preferences during slow shifts and launched the project as a side endeavor. Matthew handled guitar duties, Rafferty played bass, and Matthew’s younger brother Alasdair Smith joined on drums. Following several months of rehearsal, the group made its first public appearance in Liverpool in April 2004. Their sound, which merged XTC’s angular pop with the Minutemen’s concise energy, soon earned them steady bookings across U.K. rock venues and drew interest from the independent label Moshi Moshi Records. The imprint issued the band’s debut single, “Sometimes It’s Better” backed with “Your Face Looks All Wrong,” in June 2006. Their follow-up release, “Everyeveryeverything” coupled with “Hello Comrade (I Quit My Job),” received New Musical Express Single of the Week honors upon its October 2006 appearance. The full-length Drop It ’Til It Pops arrived in January 2007 and yielded two further singles: “Shipwreck” backed with “Symmetry,” followed by “Clockwork Toy,” whose B-side featured a lighthearted reading of Paul Simon’s “You Can Call Me Al.” In spring 2007 the group traveled to the United States for a brief tour consisting of two New York dates and four performances in Austin, Texas, timed to coincide with the South by Southwest Music Conference.
