The Van Pelt, an American indie rock band from New York City, was formed in 1993 at New York University. The original lineup included Chris Leo on vocals and guitar, David Baum on guitar, Barry London on bass, and Neil O'Brien on drums. Their early releases included a split single with Radio to Saturn featuring "His Saxophone is My Guitar", released on Sudden Shame Records. In 1996, the band released their debut album Stealing from Our Favorite Thieves after London left and Toko Yasuda joined. The following year saw the release of Sultans of Sentiment, with Brian Maryansky and Sean Greene joining the lineup. The Van Pelt disbanded in 1997 but reunited in 2009 for live performances. In 2014, they released Imaginary Third, an album of previously unreleased material recorded around 1996 and 1997. The band's fourth studio album, Artisans + Merchants, was released in 2023, marking its first new recordings since the 1990s. The album was preceded by the singles "Punk House", "Image of Health", and "Grid".
