The Hobbes Fanclub

Shoegaze-minded indie pop trio the Hobbes Fanclub had its beginnings in 2008 as a transcontinental collaboration between U.K. singer/songwriter Leon Carroll and Brazilian musician Fabiana Karpinski. Without ever meeting in person, the duo worked on songs via file sharing and released a few CD-Rs on smaller indie labels before parting ways in 2010. At that time Carroll expanded the band to include drummer Adam Theakston and bassist/vocalist Louise Phelan, two musicians from his home base of Bradford, England. The newly reconfigured band began working on an energetic pop sound that recalled the same fuzzy, sometimes melancholic aesthetic of early-’90s underground pop acts like Velocity Girl, Black Tambourine, and Boyracer, with added touches of both jangle and jagged noisiness. By 2012 the band had played a handful of gigs and festivals around England and released debut 7″ single Your Doubting Heart on Shelflife Records, as well as an online EP. Their debut full-length arrived in the form of 2014’s Up at Lagrange. ~ Fred Thomas, Rovi