The Blood Brothers

Formed in 1997, the Blood Brothers forged a singular strain of punk-drenched angst rock that was at once defiant and abrasive. Seattle supplied the entire lineup: vocalists Jordan Blilie and Johnny Whitney, guitarist Cody Votolato of Waxwing, bassist Morgan Henderson, and drummer Mark Gajadhar. The group shared bills with Pretty Girls Make Graves and comparable acts. Their first album, This Adultery Is Ripe, surfaced in 2000 as a jagged, caustic batch of tracks that prompted critics to applaud the band’s pointed rejection of mainstream norms. March on Electric Children followed in 2001 and sustained the same convulsive energy. Impressed by the results, ARTISTdirect offered a contract the subsequent year, after which the quintet delivered its tightest set to date with Burn Piano Island, Burn. Crimes marked their initial V2 outing in fall 2004 and was recorded with Seattle producer John Goodmanson, whose credits include Blonde Redhead, Sleater-Kinney, and the Catheters. While touring alongside Against Me!, Kill Me Tomorrow, the Chinese Stars, Coheed & Cambria, and Dance Disaster Movement, Whitney and Gajadhar also developed the side project Neon Blonde, releasing Chandeliers in the Savannah in 2005. The Love Rhymes with Hideous Car Wreck EP kept listeners engaged until Young Machetes appeared in fall 2006. Band members characterized the record as a return to their earlier, more frantic approach, and Guy Picciotto served as producer. The group dissolved in late 2007; Whitney subsequently launched Jaguar Love, while the remaining members regrouped as Past Lives.