The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion

Thrashing out lo-fi, scuzzy, antagonistic rock'n'roll, The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion became anti-heroes of the New York music scene, inspiring the likes of The Strokes, Yeah Yeah Yeahs and The Black Keys. Formed in 1991 after the demise of Spencer's raucous punk band Pussy Galore, their sleazy garage blues took inspiration from the MC5, The Cramps and New York Dolls with their ferocious early works produced by Matt Kramer and Steve Albini. The band became slightly more comprehensible with first official album The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion (1992) and their heavy blues riffs and swaggering showmanship started to come through on follow-up Extra Width (1993) and Now I Got Worry (1996). Dr John and Elliott Smith featured on Plastic Fang (2002) and DJ Shadow and David Holmes produced Damage (2004) as the band helped usher in a new wave of garage rock acts in the early 2000s. A high energy and hugely entertaining live act, they returned after a long hiatus with 10th studio album Meat and Bone (2012) and were selected by Neutral Milk Honey's Jeff Mangum to play at his All Tomorrow's Parties festival.