Deerhunter

With a gangly, pencil-thin frame caused by a genetic disorder called Marfan Syndrome, gay, 6ft 4", occasionally cross-dressing frontman Bradford Cox cuts a striking figure. An isolated high school outsider obsessed by music, he started Deerhunter with Moses Archuleta after his parents divorced and left him alone in his childhood home. Adding sonic ambition to primal garage rock'n'roll, Deerhunter have evolved into one of the most talked-about new bands around, earning a fearsome live reputation through tours with Nine Inch Nails, Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Smashing Pumpkins. Debut album Turn It Up Faggot (2005) was named after a crowd heckle aimed at Cox, before second album Cryptograms (2005) honed a reverb heavy, ambient punk sound. The psychedelic pop swirl of Microcastle (2008) was greeted with rave reviews and the Pitchfork website naming it 50th in their Best Albums Of The Decade list. Frequently releasing EPs and new material, Cox has gone on to record solo material under the name Atlas Sound.