We Were Promised Jetpacks

Half bracing post-punk and half tuneful indie pop, Glasgow's We Were Promised Jetpacks feature vocalist/guitarist Adam Thompson, guitarist Michael Palmer, bassist Sean Smith, and drummer Darren Lackie. The group formed while the four were still attending an Edinburgh high school, where they won a battle of the bands contest with their very first gig. After graduation, We Were Promised Jetpacks relocated to Glasgow, and their sound matured as well, moving from simple song structures and clean guitars to a more ambitious, anthemic approach. They were also inspired by fellow Glaswegians the Twilight Sad and Frightened Rabbit, and these influences could be heard on the three-song demo the band recorded, which received airplay on BBC, XFM, and Q Radio in the U.K., and KEXP in the States. In 2008, We Were Promised Jetpacks toured as Frightened Rabbit's opening act; that year, they were signed by Fat Cat Records (also home to both Frightened Rabbit and the Twilight Sad). In 2009, We Were Promised Jetpacks released two singles, Quiet Little Voices and Roll Up Your Sleeves, before their full-length These Four Walls arrived that summer. They followed up the next year with the EP The Last Place You'll Look, which featured some unreleased tracks and more orchestral rearrangements of some of the songs from their previous album. In 2011, the band returned with another full-length effort, the more driving In the Pit of the Stomach. ~ Heather Phares, Rovi