I Am Kloot

I Am Kloot is an oddball pop trio based in Manchester, England, that consists of vocalist/guitarist John Bramwell, drummer Andy Hargreaves, and guitarist/bassist Pete Jobson. Bramwell used his contacts as a gig promoter to reel in Hargreaves and Jobson from their former bands. A week after their first show (at the same venue Bramwell promoted gigs at), they released their debut single, Titanic/To You. After another single in early 2000, the group signed to Wall of Sound offshoot We Love You. A two-part single for Morning Rain was released in June of 2001, and the full-length Natural History was out by the end of the year. The trio signed a new recording contract with the Echo label and teamed up with producer Ian Broudie to record their self-titled second album, released in summer 2003. Broudie added his textbook production touches to the album, expanding the I Am Kloot sound to provide the perfect framework for Bramwell's finely observed lyrical vignettes. The trio undertook their first U.S. tour in 2005 in support of the belated stateside release of I Am Kloot. Shortly afterwards, they released their third European album, Gods and Monsters. The band's fourth full-length outing, I Am Kloot Play Moolah Rouge, arrived in 2008, followed by 2009's B, a compilation of B-sides, rarities, and unreleased songs. Released in 2010, Sky at Night was produced by Craig Potter and Guy Garvey from Elbow. It was their most commercially successful album; it reached number 24 on the U.K. albums chart, and it was also short-listed for the Mercury Prize. Let It All In, the band's sixth album, was issued in early 2013. ~ Andy Kellman, Rovi