Let'S Wrestle

London lo-fi rock trio Let's Wrestle, comprising vocalist/lead guitarist Wesley Patrick Gonzalez, bassist Mike Hankin (who goes by the name Mike Lightning), and drummer Darkus Bishop, formed in 2005. Their first recording, the 7" single "Song for ABBA Tribute Band," didn't come out, however, until May 2007 on the U.K. label Marquis Cha Cha, but it immediately gained them fans in the British music scene, including Art Brut's Eddie Argos, to whom Gonzalez (whose stepfather is musician Pete Astor) was often compared. In 2008, and signed to Stolen Recordings, the band released the EP In Loving Memory Of, followed by the full-length In the Court of the Wrestling Let's in June 2009. The album, recorded in an East London basement, and whose title was a play on King Crimson's In the Court of the Crimson King, was well received by both the British and American press, and earned them comparisons to the Fall, the aforementioned Art Brut, and early Wedding Present. The album was issued in the U.S. by Merge in the spring of 2010. The band's second album, Nursing Home, was recorded in Chicago with Steve Albini and was released by Merge in May of the next year. Soon after the album came out, Mike Lightning left the group and was replaced by Sam Pillay. Let's Wrestle next convened to work on their third album, which found them expanding their sound and adding just a touch of maturity. They also added guitarist Max Claps of the Proper Ornaments to the lineup. The self-titled Let's Wrestle was issued in early 2014 by Fortuna POP!