Unnatural Helpers

Unnatural Helpers started out as a band of employees who worked in-house at Seattle’s iconic Sub Pop label. At its inception, the band featured Matt Olsen, Sean Kelly, Jed Maheu, and Dean Whitmore. As the group progressed, it went through a near constant rotation of lineups, and by the time of its debut, Whitmore was the only remaining original member. In his off time with his other bands Intelligence and Welcome, among others, the vocalist/drummer signed with Hardly Art, who released the garage rock-based Cracked Love & Other Drugs. The album was recorded with the Fastbacks’ Kurt Bloch and released in April 2010. The group went through more changes before settling on a line-up of Whitmore (drums, vocals), Andrew Sullivan (bass), Johnnie Heinz (guitar), and Andrew Greager (guitar). This foursome recorded the band's second album, working again with Bloch, and also Eric Randall, at the mixing desk. The result was 2012's Land Grab.