Biography

Coming Soon are an English-language indie folk-rock band from France that generated some buzz in the international underground music scene with their full-length album debut in 2008. Formed in 2005 in Annecy, Rhône-Alpes, France, the band is comprised of Howard Hugues (aka Howard Hughes; vocals), Ben Lupus (guitar, vocals), Leo Bear Creek (drums), Billy Jet Pilot (bass), Alex Banjo (banjo, ukulele, guitar), Mary Salomé (clarinet, xylophone, vocals), and Caroline Van Pelt (keyboards, vocals). Around the time Coming Soon were initially taking shape and adding to their roster, some of the original bandmembers, in particular then 11-year-old Leo Bear Creek, were involved in Antsy Pants, an anti-folk side project led by former Moldy Peaches singer/songwriter Kimya Dawson that convened in Annecy in 2005. The recording sessions resulted in an eponymous full-length album originally released in 2006 on the American independent label Plan-It-X and later reissued in 2007 on the British independent label Smoking Gun Records. A couple songs from the album, "Tree Hugger" and "Vampire," would later be featured prominently in the Academy Award-winning film Juno (2007) and, more notably, on the commercially released accompanying soundtrack. Meanwhile, Coming Soon had signed a recording contract with the well-regarded Parisian indie label Kitchen Music and proceeded to make their label debut with The Escort (2007), a four-track EP. The band's full-length album debut, New Grids (2008), followed a year later and proved relatively popular for an independent release, reaching number 151 on the French albums chart. A promotional video was filmed for the single "Howard's Mood," and the album was written up in a number of British publications such as Q and NME. In 2009 bandmember Howard Hugues made his full-length solo album debut with O Make Me a Mask (2009) on Kitchen Music. ~ Jason Birchmeier, Rovi