Formed in 2008 around the talents of Alex Davey Saunders, Daniel Hopewell, George Waite, and Russell Bates, British indie rockers the Crookes craft sly, romantically doomed, modern pop songs that have drawn comparisons to artists like Vampire Weekend, Belle and Sebastian, the Housemartins, and the Smiths. The Crookes, who took their name from the Sheffield suburb where Saunders and Hopewell met, caught the public’s ear in 2009 after recording a live session on BBC Radio 1 that prompted influential disc jockey Steve Lamacq to declare them his favorite British band of the year. ~ James Christopher Monger