COIN

Though they formed in Nashville, COIN have carved a space in the field of bright, synth-spiked alternative pop more often associated with L.A. and N.Y.C. The band emerged with their full-length debut, COIN, in 2015 before making their Billboard 200 debut two years later with How Will You Know If You Never Try. Their more electronically stylized fourth album, 2022's Uncanny Valley, incorporated themes of artificial intelligence and what it means to be human. The summery but ambivalent-hearted single "Strawberry Jam" appeared in 2024.

Started by students at Belmont University in 2012, COIN sold out a show for the first time in mid-2013. The quartet of Chase Lawrence (vocals/synths), Joe Memmel (guitar/vocals), Zachary Dyke (bass), and Ryan Winnen (drums) signed with Columbia later the same year. Working with producer and co-writer Jay Joyce (Eric Church, Cage the Elephant), they released their self-titled debut in 2015. Behind the single "Run," it landed on the Billboard Heatseekers Albums chart. The band came back a year later with the kissing anthem "Talk Too Much," the first song from their second album, 2017's How Will You Know If You Never Try. The full-length spent a week at number 177 on the Billboard 200, marking their debut on the chart.

Dyke parted ways with the group shortly after they began recording their next full-length. Featuring others but mainly co-producer Micah Tawlks on bass, Dreamland arrived on The Committee for Sound and Mind label in early 2020. While it missed the Billboard 200, it became the band's third straight album to enter the Heatseekers chart. They followed Dreamland with a series of EPs -- 2020's Indigo Violet and the next year's Green Blue and Red Orange -- that were collected on the Rainbow Mixtape in April 2021, also on The Committee for Sound and Mind.

Still operating as a trio, COIN delivered their fourth album, Uncanny Valley (Homemade Projects/10K Projects), in March 2022. It examined the roles of technology and humanity with an increased use of electronics and effects. They were back in June 2024 with the song "Strawberry Jam," featuring production by the band and Gabe Simon (Maroon 5, Lana Del Rey). ~ Marcy Donelson