The Neighbourhood

The Neighbourhood is a California-based quintet that has been pushing boundaries and expectations in the music industry since their inception in 2011. Comprising Jesse Rutherford on vocals, Zach Abels and Jeremy Freedman on guitar, Mikey Margott on bass, and Brandon Fried on percussion, the group's genre-bending style is as distinct as it is unpredictable. Their platinum-selling debut album, "I Love You." and its hit lead single, "Sweater Weather" cemented The Neighbourhood in the music scene and amassed more than 2.3 billion streams on Spotify, driving the total streams of the band through 9.5 billion.

Having collaborated with artists as diverse as YG and Denzel Curry, they've graced stages at top festivals such as Coachella and appeared on late-night television. Testament to their constant innovation, their third album "Hard To Imagine The Neighbourhood Ever Changing" pushed beyond mere commercial success and garnered over 1 billion streams and views, as well as critical acclaim.

Instead of resting on their laurels, The Neighbourhood continually evolves. This is evident in the band's fourth album, "Chip Chrome & The Mono-Tones" where a silver-painted and grill-donning Jesse Rutherford, metamorphoses into Chip Chrome. This dramatic persona was first unveiled in the band's 2019 single "Middle of Somewhere," and it undoubtedly left fans questioning whether – or how – Jesse and Chip are the same and if the band is still The Neighbourhood they know and love.

Behind the shiny veneer of Chip Chrome, Rutherford asserts his identity even more, believing that Chip has always been there behind-the-scenes, waiting for his opportunity to step into the spotlight. Chip was Rutherford's audacious statement of identity, a way of expressing his individuality and personal style without restriction or fear of judgment.

In fact, the transformation into Chip Chrome only solidified The Neighbourhood's identity, with Jesse mentioning that "the more he hears it, the more it sounds like a Neighbourhood record." The new persona isn't a divergence but a realignment, bringing the band closer to the raw, unfiltered authenticity that has always set them apart in a crowded music landscape. Nurturing an uncompromising artistic vision yields daring innovation and The Neighbourhood's journey is an inspiring testament to those principles in action. Every album, every collaboration, every performance is a bold statement of their relentless evolution, making them an intriguing and exciting presence in the music industry.