Biography

English brothers Ollie, Will, and Tim Walter were inspired to form their first band together as teenagers -- alongside former guitarist Tom Johnson -- after seeing rock & roll revivalists the Darkness perform. Together they learned to play their respective instruments and eventually amassed a repertoire of rock covers, as well as taking their first tentative steps to writing their own material. The Bath-based outfit initially named themselves Rock Pirates before they settled on Dark Horse and self-released an EP in 2010, which borrowed influences from hard rockers AC/DC and Kiss. They parted ways with Johnson and continued as a three-piece in 2011 under the moniker the Family Rain. Their first single, "Trust Me... I'm a Genius," arrived in 2012 and defined a new musical approach from the brothers, with a blues-rock sound that channeled the White Stripes and the Black Keys' gritty, riff-led music. They signed with Virgin EMI soon after, and the following year entered the studio with indie producer Jim Abbiss (Arctic Monkeys, Kasabian) at the legendary Hansa Studios in Berlin. They toured with the likes of the Courteeners, Miles Kane, and Jake Bugg, and supported the Rolling Stones at their 2013 Hyde Park shows as they continued to build their fan base. An EP, Pushing It, appeared in the spring of that year, and a headlining U.K. tour ended a busy year for the trio. Their full-length debut, Under the Volcano, emerged in early 2014. After parting ways with Virgin EMI, the band self-released a second Family Rain EP, Hunger Sauce, that summer. In 2015, they recorded their sophomore LP at Rockfield Studios in Wales with Under the Volcano contributor Tom Dalgety (Royal Blood, Subhumans) producing. ~ Scott Kerr, Rovi