The group was formed by Srini Radhakrishna in 2007 when he moved back to Minneapolis after attending grad school in Chicago, Illinois. He originally recruited Danny Henry and Brian Shuey to help him record some songs that he had written while in Chicago. The original intention was for the band to just be a recording project, but when Jered Gummere, a former bandmate from the Guilty Pleasures, invited Srini to open for his current band, the Ponys, additional members were recruited to form a live band. The band was quickly signed by Dusty Medical Records who released their debut 45 "World Of Mirrors". They were next picked up by HoZac Records who released their next 45 "Invisible Angle". A split 45 with the band Tiger Bones followed on Shit Sandwich Records. In May of 2018, the FHtB lineup of Daniel Henry, R. Srini, David Storberg, and Hideo Takahashi released the digital LP ...But We Must Cultivate Our Garden.
The Band's Name
Srini stated that he didn't want a band name like "The Somethings" or a name that gave an indication as to the genre of the band. The band's name was coined by Brian Shuey.
Influences
Srini cites bands such as The Clean, The Folk Implosion, Wire and Guided by Voices as influences. Jacques Wait described the band's sound as "dance-y, garage-y indie rock that kicks ass but is also fun" Journalist David Hansen described the sound as "jagged-edged pop-rock".
Reception
Rolling Stone magazine described the band as "Rocketing tempos, right-angle guitars and ragged-throated vocals."
David Hansen, also from the City Pages, described their songs as "four-minute nuggets gleam like uncut gems".
Brett Cross, from Victim of Time magazine, said the band "play a brilliant concoction of pop-tinged rock that straddles the lines between a number of genres and refreshingly defies the one word categorizations often used to describe a certain sound".
In another review, Brett Cross said the band "lay out cagey, self-conscious tunes that sprawl a sonic map that their peers would have a hard time keeping up with".
David Hansen, writing for vita.mn, said the band "manages all the explosiveness of our thermonuclear allies across the pond, without all the snooty posturing".
Brian Banks, editor for the UK's "Music Vice" magazine, described the band as being "rich in garage and post-punk flavours".
Members
Current members
Srini Radhakrishna - Football, Guilty Pleasures, White Outs
Hideo Takahashi - Birthday Suits, Sweet JAP
David Storberg - the Misfires, Double Bird, Signal to Trust
