Biography
Western Education came of age amid the children of the 1990s, when Nirvana already counted as classic rock and the Strokes had taken on the role of elder statesmen. Lead vocalist and keyboardist Greg Alexandropoulos joined forces with guitarist and backing vocalist Georgio Broufas plus producer and bassist Will Hunt to shape an earnest, passionate rock sound steeped in the angular indie and emo styles that defined the turn of the millennium. Permanent drummer Devin Vaillancourt came aboard in 2015, after which the band issued the Restless Dreams EP in 2016 and delivered its sophomore full-length in 2024.
The members first crossed paths in 2011 at the University of Massachusetts in Lowell, united by a common enthusiasm for the Killers, the Strokes, and Franz Ferdinand. Although that early-aughts sensibility shaped their earliest material, Alexandropoulos brought a more theatrical edge to his singing, channeling the dramatic intensity of Panic! At the Disco’s Brandon Urie rather than the Vegas-showman persona of the Killers’ Brandon. Following a pair of self-produced EPs in 2012, the group earned local New England radio exposure, earned a place on The Boston Phoenix’s 2013 shortlist of Boston’s best new bands, and reached the semifinals of the 35th annual Boston “Rock ’n’ Roll Rumble,” where past participants included the Dresden Dolls, Lemonheads, and Morphine.
The band’s 2014 debut, Let Your Secrets Out, was helmed by members of the Color and Sound and Pray for Sound and featured the single “Rivals.” With Vaillancourt now firmly in the lineup, Western Education resurfaced in 2016 via the Restless Dreams EP and its single “Skin Deep,” an effort that fused the group’s synth and alternative-rock leanings with the darker post-punk textures associated with Interpol and Bloc Party. Subsequent years saw the release of the propulsive single “Coat of Arms” in 2018 and a 2021 cover of Miley Cyrus’ hit single “Midnight Sky.” In July 2024 the band unveiled “Catherine What Have You Done,” the lead single from its sophomore studio full-length, which appeared later that year.
The members first crossed paths in 2011 at the University of Massachusetts in Lowell, united by a common enthusiasm for the Killers, the Strokes, and Franz Ferdinand. Although that early-aughts sensibility shaped their earliest material, Alexandropoulos brought a more theatrical edge to his singing, channeling the dramatic intensity of Panic! At the Disco’s Brandon Urie rather than the Vegas-showman persona of the Killers’ Brandon. Following a pair of self-produced EPs in 2012, the group earned local New England radio exposure, earned a place on The Boston Phoenix’s 2013 shortlist of Boston’s best new bands, and reached the semifinals of the 35th annual Boston “Rock ’n’ Roll Rumble,” where past participants included the Dresden Dolls, Lemonheads, and Morphine.
The band’s 2014 debut, Let Your Secrets Out, was helmed by members of the Color and Sound and Pray for Sound and featured the single “Rivals.” With Vaillancourt now firmly in the lineup, Western Education resurfaced in 2016 via the Restless Dreams EP and its single “Skin Deep,” an effort that fused the group’s synth and alternative-rock leanings with the darker post-punk textures associated with Interpol and Bloc Party. Subsequent years saw the release of the propulsive single “Coat of Arms” in 2018 and a 2021 cover of Miley Cyrus’ hit single “Midnight Sky.” In July 2024 the band unveiled “Catherine What Have You Done,” the lead single from its sophomore studio full-length, which appeared later that year.
Albums
