Simple Creatures is an American

pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre with an emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than rock music. Originating in the late 1950s as an alternative to normal rock and roll, earl ...

duo that was formed by vocalist, bassist, and keyboardist

Mark Hoppus Mark Allan Hoppus (born March 15, 1972) is an American musician, songwriter and record producer best known as the bassist and co-lead vocalist for the rock band Blink-182, being the only constant member and the only one to appear on every album. ...

Blink-182 Blink-182 (stylized as blink-182) is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Poway, California in 1992. Their current lineup consists of bassist/vocalist Mark Hoppus, guitarist/vocalist Tom DeLonge, and drummer Travis Barker. Though their ...

and vocalist, guitarist, and keyboardist

Alex Gaskarth Alexander William Gaskarth (born 14 December 1987) is an English-born American singer and songwriter. He is best known as the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, and primary songwriter for the American rock band All Time Low since its formation in 2 ...

All Time Low All Time Low is an American rock band from Towson, Maryland, formed in 2003. Consisting of lead vocalist/rhythm guitarist Alex Gaskarth, lead guitarist Jack Barakat, bassist/backing vocalist Zack Merrick, and drummer Rian Dawson, the band too ...

. Based in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, the duo released their first EP, ''Strange Love'', on March 29, 2019. Their second EP, ''Everything Opposite'', was released on October 11, 2019.

Biography

Alex Gaskarth grew up a fan of

, and his group, All Time Low, eventually toured with the band on its 2016 ''California'' Tour. Mark Hoppus, the band's bassist, had become friends with Gaskarth over the years and the two had always spoken about collaborating at some point. Following completion of the ''California'' tour dates in 2017, Hoppus fell into a depression, and re-entered the studio hoping to record with artists he had always wanted to work with. He called Gaskarth first, and the two ended up writing several songs in the first sessions together. The project, Simple Creatures, was announced in January 2019, with the lead single "Drug". The duo's first extended play, ''Strange Love'', was released March 29 via

BMG BMG may refer to: Organizations * Music publishing companies: ** Bertelsmann Music Group, a 1987–2008 division of Bertelsmann that was purchased by Sony on October 1, 2008 *** Sony BMG, a 2004–2008 joint venture of Bertelsmann and Sony that wa ...

. The duo also announced a four date tour of the US and UK during March and April 2019, alongside two music festivals in Europe during Summer 2019. In April 2019, shortly after the release of their ''Strange Love'' EP, the band confirmed in an interview that they have a second EP and a debut album ready to release in the near future. On June 12, 2019, the band released "Special". Later that day, Gaskarth confirmed that it will be off an upcoming EP. The band later released a video for "Special", and announced that their second EP ''Everything Opposite'' would be released in October 2019.

Musical style and influences

Simple Creatures' musical style has been described as pop,

synth-pop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a subgenre of new wave music that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s ...

electronic rock Electronic rock is a music genre that involves a combination of rock music and electronic music, featuring instruments typically found within both genres. It originates from the late 1960s, when rock bands began incorporating electronic instrume ...

, and

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...

. Hoppus and Gaskarth have described Simple Creatures' sound as "trash pop", which Hoppus has defined as "ratty guitars, big bombastic drum loops, ndbuzzy synths." Both Hoppus and Gaskarth credited

The Cure The Cure are an English Rock music, rock band formed in 1978 in Crawley, Crawley, West Sussex. Throughout numerous lineup changes since the band's formation, guitarist, lead vocalist, and songwriter Robert Smith (musician), Robert Smith has re ...

and its frontman, Robert Smith, as an influence on their first EP, ''Strange Love''. "There were many, many times during the recording process that we referenced The Cure sounds, or the way that Robert Smith writes," Hoppus told ''

Kerrang! ''Kerrang!'' is a British weekly magazine devoted to rock, punk and heavy metal music, currently published by Wasted Talent (the same company that owns electronic music publication ''Mixmag''). It was first published on 6 June 1981 as a one- ...

''. The music of the duo contains programmed drums, guitars, and synthesizers. Hoppus credited his longtime influences the

Descendents The Descendents are an American punk rock band formed in 1977 in Manhattan Beach, California, by guitarist Frank Navetta, bassist Tony Lombardo and drummer Bill Stevenson. In 1979, they enlisted Stevenson's school friend Milo Aukerman as a s ...

and

Bad Religion Bad Religion is an American punk rock band that formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1980. The band's lyrics cover topics related to religion, politics, society, the media and science. Musically, they are noted for their melodic sensibilitie ...

as an influence, stating that he and Gaskarth both come from a "catchy punk rock background." Lyrically, the duo hoped to imbue darker qualities and edginess into pop songs. "We’re both deeply sad people on the inside. That dark pop, goth, emo thing," Gaskarth said.

Band members

– vocals, guitars, keyboards, production, engineering (2019–present) *

– vocals, bass, keyboards, guitars, production, engineering (2019–present)

Discography

Extended plays * ''Strange Love'' (2019) * ''Everything Opposite'' (2019)

References

External links

* {{Authority control American pop rock music groups Musical groups established in 2019 Musical groups from California Rock music duos American musical duos 2019 establishments in California