The Von Bondies

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• Genre: Garage Rock Revival
• Hometown: Detroit
• The Von Bondies Website

About

Detroit quartet the Von Bondies first laid out the plan for their take on raved-up garage rock in 2000. After churning out a few spittle-soaked singles, the band was featured on The Sympathetic Sounds of Detroit, a compilation album by the then-nascent Jack White of the White Stripes. The comp saw the Von Bondies sitting alongside notable hellfire-burning outfits like the Detroit Cobras, the Dirtbombs, the Soledad Brothers and the White Stripes. It wasn't long before their own debut arrived in 2001. Lack Of Communication was filled with their distinctive, dirty howl and particularly showed off the strengths of Marcie Bolen and Carrie Smith, whose turns at the mic provided some of the album's most riveting moments. It's singer Jason Stollsteimer who directs most of the action, though. His vocal theatrics are all blues bluster given to punk rock fits of unexpected energy. With the raw, primitive sounds of garage rock becoming oddly popular in 2003, it was no surprise to see the Von Bondies courted by a major label. Their official second album, Pawn Shoppe Heart, was released in 2004.

- Jon Pruett