Gentle Friendly

South London’s Gentle Friendly craft noisy yet atmospheric music that spans everything from Animal Collective’s hazy melodies to No Age’s tantrums to glitchy electronics and hip-hop-tinged beats. Singer/keyboardist David Morris and drummer Daniel Boyle formed Gentle Friendly in 2007, when one of their friends found a drum kit in the trash and the pair acquired some old keyboards, including a Casio MT-40. An early version of Gentle Friendly also included guitar, but Morris soon scrapped the strings for more portable keyboards. Released in 2008, the Night Tape EP on the No Pain in Pop label introduced their fizzing energy and oddly emotional undercurrents, but Gentle Friendly switched to Upset the Rhythm for their 2009 digital single "RIP Static"/"Clean Breaker." The band's debut album, Ride Slow, appeared in the U.K. in late 2009 and was released in the U.S. the following February.