Noisettes

Beginning as a scrappy yet high-voltage indie rock outfit steeped in garage textures, charged with punk's raw force, and shaded by a gritty, soul-tinged blues sensibility, the Noisettes later pivoted toward sparkling disco grooves and straightforward pop. Guitarist Dan Smith and singer/bassist Shingai Shoniwa, who had previously collaborated in Sonarfly, launched the band. Although the pair already shared a creative history, they started composing new material together in spring 2003, and the project crystallized once they encountered drummer Jamie Morrison. His frenetic energy aligned with Smith and Shoniwa's bold, visceral approach while still accommodating the singer's unrestrained, diva-like vocal presence.

Now operating under the name the Noisettes, the trio began performing live in late 2003 and entered the studio the following year to cut the four-song EP The Three Moods of the Noisettes. Side Salad Records, a British independent label, issued the recording in early 2005, prompting interest from prominent U.K. acts such as Babyshambles, Bloc Party, and Muse, all of whom subsequently took the group on tour. Universal Music offered the Noisettes a worldwide contract in 2006, routing releases through Motown/Vertigo across Europe and Mercury in the United States. Their first full-length album, What's the Time Mr. Wolf?, appeared in February 2007. In March 2009 the band resurfaced with the single "Don't Upset the Rhythm," which signaled their shift into polished pop and disco-inflected sounds; Wild Young Hearts, the second album, followed later that spring and reached American listeners that autumn. Morrison departed in early 2010. Later the same year the remaining duo of Smith and Shoniwa released a cover of the Buzzcocks' "Ever Fallen in Love (With Someone You Shouldn'tve)" alongside a fresh recording of "Sister Rosetta" for the soundtrack to The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Pt. 1. The Noisettes delivered their third album, Contact, in 2012; its singles "Winner" and "That Girl" underscored the pair's continued movement into broader, more varied stylistic territory.