Mainland was an American

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of music that emerged in late 1977 in the wake of punk rock. Post-punk musicians departed from punk's fundamental elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a broader, more experiment ...

/rock band based in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

. The current members are Jordan Topf, Corey Mullee, and Alex Pitta. Mainland by Jabari Jacobs

Background

2011-2015

Members Corey and Jordan first met at a party, Jordan being in another band at the time. After leaving his former band, he reconnected with Corey to form Mainland. Alex worked at restaurant with Jordan and joined shortly after. The band’s name comes from a word Topf first heard used by his mother, who spoke of missing the mainland of

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

where she grew up. Said Topf, “It felt fitting for our story and how we met in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. There tends to always be a sense of nostalgia and longing in our music whether it be about a place or a person.”

2015-present

In December 2015, Mainland released a 4-song EP titled ''Outcast'' under

300 Entertainment Theory Entertainment LLC, doing business as 300 Entertainment, is an American record label founded by Lyor Cohen, Kevin Liles, Todd Moscowitz, and Roger Gold. The label's roster includes acts across multiple genres such as hip hop, rock, pop, ele ...

, the record label which they signed with earlier that year. The EP was recorded at Sound City in Los Angeles released exclusively through ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

''. They toured with Canadian band

Marianas Trench The Mariana Trench is an oceanic trench located in the western Pacific Ocean, about east of the Mariana Islands; it is the deepest oceanic trench on Earth. It is crescent-shaped and measures about in length and in width. The maximum known ...

from January–February 2016. They were the opening act for

Jukebox the Ghost Jukebox the Ghost is an American three-piece power pop band formed in the Washington, D.C. metro area. The band consists of Ben Thornewill (vocals & piano), Tommy Siegel (vocals & guitar) and Jesse Kristin (drums). The band has been active sin ...

in February 2016, and the opening act for Melanie Martinez's Cry Baby tour. In June 2016, they released their single "Beggars" followed by a stream of self-produced singles “Permission Slip”, “Empty Promises”, and “Dummy Test”. On April 28, 2019, the band released a 5-song EP titled ''Villains'' under

. It included singles "I Found God" and “Hometown". On May 22, 2019, Mainland collaborated with Rynx for the release of his fourth single, “Read My Mind.”
The band played their final show on January 25, 2019 at The Satellite in Los Angeles, California. The band went dormant the years following as singer Jordan Topf went solo as Windser and announced on X their official split in 2022.

Notable Features

Mainland’s single "Not As Cool As Me" was featured on Shake Shack's Shack 10 playlist on

Spotify Spotify (; ) is a List of companies of Sweden, Swedish Music streaming service, audio streaming and media service provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. , it is one of the largest providers of music streaming services ...

, which features 10 popular songs playing in locations each month.

Influences

Collectively, Mainland's influences include British bands such as

The Cure The Cure are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Crawley in 1976 by Robert Smith (musician), Robert Smith (vocals, guitar) and Lol Tolhurst (drums). The band's current line-up comprises Smith, Perry Bamonte (guitar and keyboards), Reev ...

Depeche Mode Depeche Mode are an English electronic music, electronic band formed in Basildon, Essex in 1980. Originally formed with the line-up of Dave Gahan, Martin Gore, Andy Fletcher (musician), Andy Fletcher and Vince Clarke, the band currently consists ...

, New Order, and

The La's The La's were an English rock band from Liverpool, originally active from 1983 until 1992. Fronted by singer, songwriter and guitarist Lee Mavers, the group are best known for their hit single " There She Goes". The band was formed by Mike ...

. In Jordan Topf’s words, "We love the way those bands mask well-crafted pop songs with poignant lyrics." Mainland also lists

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...

The Velvet Underground The Velvet Underground were an American Rock music, rock band formed in New York City in 1964. Its classic lineup consisted of singer and guitarist Lou Reed, Welsh multi-instrumentalist John Cale, guitarist Sterling Morrison, and percussionis ...

, and

The Clash The Clash were an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1976. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they are considered one of the most influential acts in the original wave of British punk rock, with their music fusing elements ...

as artists that inspire them.

Discography

*Shiner EP (2014) *Outcast EP (2015) *Beggars (2016) *Permission Slip (2016) *Empty Promises (2016) *Dummy Test (2016) *I Found God (2017) *Hometown (2018) *Villains EP (2018)

External links

* *

References

{{authority control American pop music groups American pop rock music groups Musical groups from Brooklyn American post-punk revival music groups 300 Entertainment artists