The Brunettes
Origin New Zealand
Genres indie pop
twee pop
Years active 1998-present
Members
Jonathan Bree
Heather Mansfield

The Brunettes are an indie pop or twee pop group from New Zealand formed in 1998. The band consists of core members Jonathan Bree and Heather Mansfield, with additional contributions from part-time band members including James Milne (of The Reduction Agents and Lawrence Arabia), Ryan McPhun (of Ryan McPhun and the Ruby Suns and The Reduction Agents), Harry Cundy, and most recently, Andrew Thompson and Princess Chelsea.

The band released its first recording Mars Loves Venus EP in 1998.

The band are signed to Auckland based label Lil' Chief Records. The Brunettes' first album Holding Hands, Feeding Ducks released in 2002 was the debut release for the label. This was followed 6 months later by the mini-album The Boyracer EP. In the U.S. their recordings appear on the Sub Pop label.

Their second album Mars Loves Venus was released in June 2004 again on Lil' Chief and was quickly followed by 2005's EP When Ice Met Cream. More recently the band signed to the American label Sub Pop, possibly as a result of their opening for The Shins 2005 tour of North America. They have also opened for Rilo Kiley, The Postal Service, Broken Social Scene, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, and Beirut and played at the 2006 Big Day Out festivals in New Zealand and Australia.

Their album Structure & Cosmetics was released on 30 July 2007 in New Zealand and on 7 August in the USA.

"Brunettes Against Bubblegum Youth" is currently featured on an extended advertisement for Hollyoaks, on Channel 4 (and E4) in the UK.

In 2008, The Brunettes covered The Cure's "Lovesong" for American Laundromat Records tribute compilation "Just Like Heaven - a tribute to The Cure". The Wedding Present, Joy Zipper, The Submarines, and The Rosebuds also contributed tracks to the project.

In 2009, The Brunettes released the Red Rollerskates EP on Lil' Chief Records which was shortly followed by their fourth album, Paper Dolls.

In 2010, their song "Red Rollerskates" was included in soundtrack of the 2K Sports video game NBA 2K11.

[edit] Discography

Date Title Label Charted Country Catalog Number
Albums
2002 Holding Hands, Feeding Ducks Lil' Chief Records - - LCR 001
2004 Mars Loves Venus Lil' Chief Records - - LCR 007
2007 Structure & Cosmetics Lil' Chief Records and Sub Pop Records - - LCR 019
2009 Paper Dolls Lil' Chief Records - - LCR 025
EPs
1998 Mars Loves Venus EP - - -
2003 The Boyracer e.p. Lil' Chief Records - - LCR 002
2005 When Ice Met Cream Lil' Chief Records - - LCR 010
2009 The Red Rollerskates E.P. Lil' Chief Records - - LCR 024
2011 Mars Loves Venus (vinyl) Microfiche Records - - MFR 003

[edit] External links

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