Candidate

Brothers Joel and Alex Morris and childhood mates Ian Painter and Chris White formed the dream pop indie sounds of Candidate in late 1998. Each had spent most of the late '90s listening to American slowcore bands, so they opted to give music a try. Candidate recorded and released several demos on their own until landing a deal with the U.K. indie label Snowstorm in spring 1999. Several EPs — Leader, Good Works, Take Over Tokyo — followed. Taking on the Enemy's Sound marked Candidate's proper full-length debut in August 2000. NME was keen on the band; this was a critical moment for Candidate. Taking on the Enemy's Sound was self-released, self-financed, and self-produced, so any kind of high praise was golden. They had an eclectic spark similar to Mercury Rev and Grandaddy, so indie fans took notice. Candidate's sophomore effort, Tiger Flies, was issued in August 2002; Nuada, which was inspired by Paul Giovanni's music featured in the 1974 U.K. thriller The Wicker Man, followed in October.