Brothers Ryan and Philip Sambol, shaped by repeated listens to a mid-1960s American Bandstand cassette that rode in their mother’s vehicle, began hammering out British-inflected psychedelic rock numbers while still enrolled at a Dallas high school. Ryan handled guitar and vocals while Philip anchored the low end; the pair refined that throwback approach in private until drummer Matt Hammer and multi-instrumentalist Greg Enlow joined, locking the quartet’s identity as the Strange Boys in 2004. The group swiftly established itself inside the thriving Dallas–Austin indie circuit and issued its first EP, States Newest Noise Makers, the same year. Shifting base to Austin toward the end of 2006, the band tapped Gris Gris leader Greg Ashley to helm its maiden long-player. During the recording sessions for that album, the Strange Boys slipped out the 7-inch Nothing on Milwaukee’s Dusty Medical Records in 2007. They then signed with In the Red Records, which released their full-length debut, Strange Boys and Girls Club, in 2009. The more ambitious follow-up, Be Brave, arrived the next year and featured guest contributions from Mika Miko’s Jenna Thornhill and Darker My Love’s Tim Presley. Their 2011 effort Live Music, the most refined set they had cut to that point, enlisted Spoon drummer Jim Eno among its producers.
