Cruiser

The Scottish sextet Cruiser was formed in 1999. Originally a project that featured only Kevin Lynch (guitars, keyboards, vocals, sequencing), by the time a lo-fi demo of his found its way into the hands of the independent Devil in the Woods label, Cruiser was signed and Lynch was asked to assemble a band. Soon a lineup of Matt Dean (bass, keyboards, vocals), John Brennan (guitars, vocals), Murray MacKay (guitars, keyboards, vocals, sequencing), Caroline Barber (vocals, cello, keyboards), and Lynch's brother, Mikey Dean (keyboards), joined up with Cruiser's lone founding member. The resulting album, 2001's Northern Electric, showed Cruiser's sound was a fusion of country-rock meets electronica and alternative, recalling such renowned artists as Neil Young, Kraftwerk, and My Bloody Valentine. Before fronting Cruiser, Lynch worked concert lights for Slowdive and Adorable, and engineered the Mogwai EP.