Written by Julie Israel

Dear Johnny Headband,

You had me from “cookies for breakfast”.

Love,
Julie

Hold on to your headbands, guys – the electro-pop band whose influences include cookies for breakfast, high school bandcamp, hot button topics, the 20th century and toothpaste has released a new album.

Hailing from Detroit, Johnny Headband is the three-man culmination of brother duo Chad and Keith Thompson and drummer RGS. Their sound? An unparalleled rodeo of electro-funk complete with synthesizers, dream guitar, and vocals as sonorous as the percussion is limb-popping. And considering that the Thompson brothers were involved in production even as teenagers (alright, low-budget short films made with camcorders and household, closet-raided props) and went on to graduate with degrees in media production, it comes as little surprise that house-made video – “And Then Again,” for example – is a quirky, color-blasted montage that suits the music perfectly.

Who Cooks For You, Johnny Headband’s third and most recent album, was informed largely by a camping trip in northern woods of Michigan and the folksy, raw acoustics of the cabin they stayed in. With this sound added to the band’s many other layers – swirls of space, summer, thunderous, rolling, and even moon-walking drums and accents like whistles, harp, and beatbox blasts – the music touches notes of everything from Beck, Passion Pit, and The Knife to LCD Soundsystem, Foster The People, and Miike Snow.

Listeners will dance from the very first track. “Over There” brings the clapping, bass-raving summer to your room; the jangling percussion of “And Then Again” recalls city street troupes gone mad with cowbell, triangle, and every other musical surface they might put a pair of drumsticks to; “Hot Button Topic” (the one that mentions “cookies for breakfast”) is a cheeky delight with as much pop in its lyrics as in its music. Every track of this nine-piece album surprises and thrills.

If you’re up in the UK, this is your chance! Johnny Headband is on tour and hitting areas all across Britain from tomorrow until early June. Check out their album on Bandcamp.