Lebanon

Though rock and roll is seldom associated with Israel, the same could once have been said of Lebanon, the name adopted by the quartet that originated in Tel Aviv. During the early 2000s, guitarists and samplers Avinoam Sternheim and Juval Haring first joined forces as the two-piece Noisy Mornings, an outfit that issued only a single EP before disbanding when its members fulfilled their obligatory service in the Israeli army. By mid-2005 the pair had completed their duties and connected with bassist Avishy Londner and drummer Adam Katz, prompting the four musicians to coalesce rapidly under the Lebanon banner. Intent on creating the kind of instrumental, large-scale drama associated with Slint and Mogwai, the band quickly earned attention through domestic concerts and the release of an early EP of demo recordings, while simultaneously developing an international audience via MySpace and similar online outlets. Their debut full-length album, Sunken City, arrived in March 2006—less than a year after the group’s formation—and featured poet Roni Hirsch among its contributors. After Adam Katz departed, Ira Motstein took over on drums, and Lebanon began directing its energies toward live appearances and further releases in the United States and additional territories.