Blackbird

• Genre: Shoegazer
• Hometown: Los Angeles

About

Blackbird is one of the many incarnations of prolific, genre-bending brothers Chip and Tony Kinman. These two have been at the forefront of or presaged more than a few genres in American underground music in the last twenty years. The brothers led the West Coast Punk band the Dils in the late 1970s, and in the early '80s they mutated into the influential Alt Country band Rank and File, which also boasted Alejandro Escovedo on their first record. After the demise of that critically acclaimed outfit, the Kinmans went on to form Blackbird, a somberly downbeat wash of swirling guitars, atmospheric synth pads, and mechanical drumbeats that support the brothers' close harmony singing.

- Tom Heyman