Harper Lee

Melancholy indie-pop duo Harper Lee was formed in Brighton, England in 1999 by singer/guitarist Keris Howard (former frontman of Sarah Records signing Brighter, as well as sometimes bassist for the Trembling Blue Stars) and multi-instrumentalist Laura Bridge (a veteran of Hood and concurrent member of Kicker). Borrowing their name from the American author who won the Pulitzer Prize for her debut novel To Kill a Mockingbird before disappearing from the public eye, the band Harper Lee likewise planned to issue just one record before calling it quits, but after releasing the plaintive single "Dry Land" on Matinee in mid-1999, the duo opted to continue forward. "Bug" appeared the following May, and in early 2001 Harper Lee issued their first full-length effort, Go Back to Bed; an EP, Train Not Stopping, appeared a few months later, with a second full-length, Everything's Going to Be OK, announced in mid-2002.