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Mark Hoppus' Pick of the Week: Neon Trees

Hopp on Pop

By Mark Hoppus on March 3, 2010 11:33 AM (8) Comments

Neon Trees

When he's not commandeering the stage as the boisterous bassist for SoCal punks Blink-182, Tweeting wisdom to more than 1.6 million followers, or handling album production duties for bands like Motion City Soundtrack and New Found Glory, you'd think Mark Hoppus would turn down the music.

Not. Possible.

In our continuing series, Hopp on Pop, Hoppus shares his favorite acts, culled from his incessant pursuit of all that rocks. (Click here to discover Mark's previous picks: Pop punkers We the Kings, British buzz bands Two Door Cinema Club and Mumford & Sons, and many more.) Check out his new entry below, and come back to SPIN.com every Wednesday for Mark's latest discovery.

Be sure to follow more of Mark's opinions and exploits via Twitter and on his blog! And check out Mark's 8 Favorite Albums of 2009!

SXSW EDITION: NEON TREES

HOMETOWN:
Provo, Utah

THE BASICS:
When guitarist Chris Allen moved from Southern California to Utah for college, vocalist-keyboardist Tyler Glenn followed him, and soon they formed the foundations of Neon Trees. Their peppy, synth-fueled sound should appeal to fans of OK Go's bubbly guitar pop and the Killers' first album. It even piqued the interest of an actual Killer: Drummer Ronnie Vannucci heard Neon Trees and talked them up to his label, Island/Def Jam, who eventually signed the young upstarts and will release their debut, Habits, on March 16. They're scheduled for a handful of gigs at this month's SXSW conference in Austin, Texas, before hitting the road with 30 Seconds to Mars and Mute Math, starting April 9 in Las Vegas.

WHERE HOPP HEARD THEM FIRST:
"A journalist pal sent me a list of SXSW bands to check out, and this one hit me right away. Listened to it four times in a row, then watched the video."

WHY THEY ROCK:
"Any song with bass as the lead instrument in the first verse gets my vote for super awesome. Very catchy and dance-y, with the vocals crazy high in the mix. Great chorus, tasty breaks and drops. Keyboard synth coolness. And, oh yeah -- handclaps! I dig the timbre of the singer's voice, and I may cop his unstable haircut. Can't wait to hear what else this band has up its collective sleeve."

HOPP'S TOP TRACK:
"'Animal.'"

WATCH: Neon Trees, "Animal"

FIND OUT MORE:
MySpace

Topics:

Posted By Anonymous

06.29.10 3:44 PM

So excited to see Neon Trees on tour with Civil Twilight and Paper Tongues. I got a free mp3 from each band too here - http://BangtheGongTour.promojam.com/mp3giveaway

Posted By X1FM Radio

04.28.10 12:54 PM

Provo, Utah bring us This Week’s Greatest Band Ever…Neon Trees. The three piece band will be touring throughout the spring opening for 30 Seconds To Mars and Mutemath promoting their full length Habits. Their new single, Animals can now be heard at X1FM.COM by contacting any of the DJ’s using the Contact DJ or Request a Song buttons. A new great band is heard weekly at X1FM.COM.

http://www.x1fm.com/alternative#/shows/noiselab/Neon-Trees-Greatest-Band...

Posted By Julie S.

03.15.10 5:02 PM

Can anyone just listen to it once? NO! Its that catchy!! Cant wait to pick up my CD tomorrow! So excited for you guys!

Posted By Austin

03.13.10 12:25 AM

THEY ARE AMAZING! BRANDEN (THE BASSIST) IS MY COUSIN. I REALLY LOOK UP TO HIM. THEY'RE GETTING MORE KNOWN DAY BY DAY, SOON TO BE LIKE BLINK 182! (BLINK 182 IS GREAT BY THE WAY, ESPECIALLY AT THE CONCERT I SAW THEM AT!)

Posted By Jeff Jensen

03.05.10 5:56 PM

Neon Trees are ready to blow up! Awesome live show, super talented, crazy driven!! They have what it takes to make it! Rock on!! Everyone should pick up Habits on March 16th! It will have my favorite Neon Tree's song "Girls and Boys in School" Mark, you would love that one.

Posted By Charity

03.03.10 11:19 PM

I have been a fan of neon Trees for almost 5 years. I have known the guitarist and lead singer for 5 years. The guitarist was my TA in school. I am so proud of them and I hope to hear more and more. I wish them much success!!!

Posted By Lindsay

03.03.10 5:34 PM

YES!! My bestie and I have loved this band for nearly a month, but no one's heard of them...maybe they'll put some new stuff out now?! xD

Posted By Janine

03.03.10 2:46 PM

lol the singer looks like or reminds me of Pete Wentz. don't like them too much though. but I think you should pick your favorite albums of the '90s. I don't know if you like The Pixies but Doolittle is amazing you should talk about/review it! :D also would be awesome if the new blink album kinda sounded like it. much love Marky Mark. :)
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