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.”

The whole article here