Darwin Deez by Darwin Deez

Darwin Deez, the self-titled debut from the New York indie band fronted by Darwin Smith, came out in Britain through Lucky Number Music, and it was the UK that took to it first: the album reached No. 3 on the UK Indie Chart and No. 61 on the main albums chart.

It's a scrappy, charming indie-rock record, all wiry, chiming guitar lines and loose, likeable vocals, the kind of thing that sounds hand-made in the best sense. "Radar Detector" is the pick, a jittery little tune with a hook that won't quit. Smith took the songs on the road for over 200 gigs in 18 months, mostly in the UK, capped by a sell-out night at London's Shepherd's Bush Empire.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.