10 Great Songs By Bands With Abbreviated Names

I've noticed a new trend in band names recently, it seems vowels are becoming uncool. Take a look at my list and you'll see what I mean, but the trend is ongoing as bands are taking longer names for their bands, removing all those pesky meaning less vowels and capitalizing all the remaining letters. Here are 10 Great Songs By Bands W/ ABBRVTD NMS

1. MSTRKRFT - "Heartbreaker" feat. John Legend

These guys might have been the first to stylize their name in this way. When Toronto's Death From Above 1979 called it quits back in 2006 it gave Jesse K. Feeler more time to work on his synth-oriented side project Master-craft. When it came to bring the band to the spotlight however, there were disputes with the major tool company with the same name, so they got around it by spelling their band name as MSTRKRFT though it's still pronounced the same way.

2. MGMT - "Time To Pretend"

I always have a hard time with these guys' names. Ben Goldwasser and Andrew VanWyngarden met while attending Wesleyan University and released a couple demos under the name The Management. When they realized that another group already used that name they went by simply MGMT. They released their major label debut Oracular Spectacular in 2008 to raving reviews. Since then they've been known for their psychadelic brand of synth-pop and have 2 more albums to their name.

3. CHVRCHES - "The Mother We Share"

Pronounced Churches, I suppose this one isn't really an abbreviation, but it's still subs a vowel for a consonant and is often stylized in ALL CAPS! CHVRCHES hail from Scotland and currently only have one album out, but are currently working on a follow-up for a 2015 release.

4. SBTRKT - "Temporary View" feat. Sampha

Geez not only do some of these artists remove all the vowels, but they'll sub a hard C with a K. Complete anarchy. NRKY!! Aaron Jerome is the man behind SBTRKT and the man behind the mask. He is known for his remixes of popular songs, but also has a few studio albums under his belt. "Temporary View" is a great chill track from his 2014 release Wonder Where We Land.

5. INXS - "Beautiful Girl (Stay With Me)"

Alright I guess these guys beat MSTRKRFT by a few years, Australia's INXS released their first album in 1980. A modest career storied by band turmoil and drug abuse, INXS were able to stay relevant and record many classic songs and vintage albums namely 1987's Kicks, 1990's X and 1992's Welcome To Wherever You Are.  After a bit of a hiatus the band returned in 1997 with Elegantly Wasted and were enjoying something of a successful comeback. Sadly while on tour in Australia, lead singer Michael Hutchence was found dead in his hotel room of an apparent suicide which stopped the band in it's tracks. They attempted to revitalize their band by using a reality show to find a new lead singer, but they never recaptured the heights that they once knew.

6. STRFKR - "Rawnald Gregory Erikson the Second"

Starfucker is an electronic band from Portland, Oregon who thankfully frequently use STRFKR to refer to themselves.  At one point an agent urged them to change their name, which they briefly did choosing Pyramiddd (no clue what those extra D's are for...word bling I guess), but the band decided they did not want to market the band that way so they fired their agent and changed the name back.

7. BLK JKS - "Lakeside"

I recently discovered these guys and like what I hear. Pronounced "Black Jacks" BLK JKS come out of Johannesburg, South Africa. I say I recently discovered them, but their latest EP was released in 2010. Their 2009 debut album After Robots was reviewed favourably by some major players in the media, namely Pitchfork Media and Rolling Stone. Hopefully we hear something new from these guys soon.

8. CHLLNGR - "Change"

That's Challenger if you're wondering, CHLLNGR is Steven Jess Borth II a Copenhagen-based producer who was also known for his remixes.  His debut solo effort came in 2011 called Haven and it fused R&B with elements of dub and reggae. "Change" is a cool little track. Check it out.

9. HTRK - "Feels Like Love"

Hat Rack? Hit Rick? Hi Track? Nope...this is Hate Rock, an Australian art rock project. They bounced around a few labels after forming in 2003 and finally released a major debut in 2009 after a long legal dispute. Tragedy struck when bass player Sean Stewart died of an apparent suicide in 2010. HTRK came back in 2014 with a new release Psychic 9-5 Club which had a more laid back and minimal style.

10. DLRN - "Reset"

Don't know much about these guys i'll admit. In fact I first saw this video yesterday, which was kinda fun. The song is great and the hook was stuck in my head for hours. I know the name was supposed to be Delorean but another group had it, so they simply removed the vowels. Watch the full video and you'll get the rundown of the group's members and guests.

THNKS FR RDNG!!

Frig, that isn't convenient at all!

JZ