Best New Band
Violet Choir
Phoenix has no singular defining musical style or sound; you’re just as likely to hear great rock as hip-hop, punk, folk, and electronic music. Violet Choir, which is composed of Mickey and Jesse Pangburn of local bands MRCH and The Prowling Kind, fully encapsulates that tradition just a year into its latest configuration. The band expertly marries bits of synth-pop, indie rock, punk, and pop into something that’s both dense emotionally and yet hugely playful. Their February 2021 self-titled EP is sleek and moody, and we’ve listened to it plenty over the past several months when we’re looking for music to accompany a chill evening. It’s their gusto and commitment that has Violet Choir already among the other great bands that have called Phoenix their home. And they formed during a pandemic — imagine what they’ll conceivably accomplish when the world’s not on fire.