About Manchester Orchestra
Manchester Orchestra is an American indie rock band from Atlanta, Georgia, that formed in 2004. The group's current line-up is composed of lead singer, songwriter and rhythm guitarist Andy Hull, lead guitarist Robert McDowell, bassist Andy Prince and drummer Tim Very. Hull is the band's only original member, having overseen every iteration of the band to date. Former drummer Jeremiah Edmond parted ways with the band in January 2010 to focus on his family and on running the band's record label, Favorite Gentlemen. The band's original bassist, Jonathan Corley, parted ways with the band in 2013. Keyboardist/percussionist Chris Freeman announced his departure from the band in September 2016.
Manchester Orchestra has released several extended plays and six studio albums to date: I'm Like a Virgin Losing a Child , Mean Everything to Nothing , Simple Math , Cope , A Black Mile to the Surface , and The Million Masks of God . They are signed to independent record label Favorite Gentlemen Recordings, which is distributed through Sony Music Entertainment and Loma Vista Recordings.
The band has performed at major music festivals such as Lollapalooza, Bonnaroo, Coachella, Riot Fest, Shaky Knees Music Festival, Firefly Music Festival, Reading and Leeds Festivals, and Austin City Limits Music Festival
Manchester Orchestra originated in the Atlanta suburbs. They are named after the English city of Manchester, a city frequently viewed as being bohemian and also rich in musical history. In an interview with Caught in the Crossfire, lead singer Andy Hull explained that he chose "Manchester" because he "had gone through a summer of listening to nothing but The Smiths", and "Orchestra" because he "didn't want to be in a band" and envisioned having "all friends come and be a part of it and form an orchestra". Feeling increasingly alienated at his "small-town-Georgia, Christian high school" named Providence Christian Academy, in suburban Atlanta, Hull became so frustrated that he spent his senior year studying at home. He also wrote and recorded his first full-length album in 2004 while studying during his last year of high school.
Early in their career, the band recorded an album entitled Nobody Sings Anymore. However, it was never released due to the shift in the band's musical direction and personnel changes undergone following its recording. The band stated that "the band that made the record was different to the band now." Some of the tracks written for the album were released instead on their 2005 EP You Brainstorm, I Brainstorm, but Brilliance Needs a Good Editor.
Following the release of You Brainstorm..., Manchester Orchestra recorded and released their debut album I'm Like a Virgin Losing a Child. The album was released on July 27, 2007. Guitarist Robert McDowell did not appear on this album, having left the band at the time of recording. He did, however, rejoin the band a year later. The song "Wolves at Night" was featured in the video game NHL 08. The band worked in the studio recording their third EP, Let My Pride Be What's Left Behind, with producer Dan Hannon and engineer Brad Fisher. It was released October 7, 2008.
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