Pairing an obsession with the Smiths with a moniker taken from a Suede song, one would think that the Drowners would hail from London, or at the very least, Manchester, when in truth the stylish post-punk quartet fronted by a former male model calls the New York City borough of Brooklyn home. Formed in 2012 around the talents of Welsh transplant/frontman Matthew Hitt (vocals, guitar), Jack Ridley (guitar), Erik Lee Snyder (bass), and Lakis E. Pavlou (drums), the Drowners, who invoke names like the Strokes, the Libertines, and the Vaccines, released their debut EP, Between Us Girls, through the Frenchkiss label in 2013. An eponymous full-length outing arrived the following year. ~ James Christopher Monger