The Ramona Flowers

Bristol-based quintet the Ramona Flowers came together out of the ashes of several other projects, taking their name from the lead female character of the comic book and film Scott Pilgrim vs. The World. The core of the group consisted of guitarist Sam James, bassist Wayne Jones, and keyboardist/guitarist Dave Betts, who met up with drummer Ed Gallimore and vocalist Steve Bird to begin crafting moody, electronically peppered alternative rock sounds in the vein of textural but still traditional acts like U2. They gigged often locally before catching the attention of indie Distiller Records. The label issued their 2012 EP Dismantle, a 2013 follow-up EP entitled Lust and Lies, and eventually, their full-length debut Dismantle and Rebuild in 2014. ~ Fred Thomas