London Calling: Picture Parlour and Norwegian Wood

Here’s an outfit (three women and a dude from Manchester) who played their first show last December that are now one of the most talked-about bands in the UK. First came the comparisons to the Arctic Monkeys (you’ll hear it) and then an endorsement from Courtney Love. There was a buzz–Twitter traffic, packed gigs, magazine covers, and so on–even before the band released any music.

Attention came so fast that the band was accused of being an industry plant. How could something this well-developed just appear? Were these the offspring of rich and famous people who pulled strings? Nope. They’re just good.