Bio

City in the Clouds is a rock band based in Princeton, NJ. Their “float pop” style is the product of the colorful lead guitar work of Ean “Luke London” Steinberger, the tasty keyboard and trumpet arrangements of the handsome Marcus Grey, the grooves of wildcard bassist Ryan Chavez, and the sibling rivalry of Jackson and Brendan Marquardt (vocals/guitar and drums/backing vocals, respectively)– former members of the Florida punk band Bet Me I’m Lying, who worked with R.E.M. producer Mitch Easter, as well as The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus.

The group’s music is written by all of the members…and they don’t try all that hard to be on the same page in terms of influences, which include Gorillaz, The Dirty Projectors, The Beach Boys, and Dizzy Gillespie. Their debut album, The Contents of Box 212, is a story about breakfast, lunch, dinner, and shampoo. The lyrics and voices of rappers RJ Paige and Mak Twain are featured, as well as a performance by singer Jenny El-Fakir.

However, as with all good entertainment, if you’re so kind as to listen to these guys’ tunes, you’re gonna have to sit through a few ads. It’s not a novel concept, but then again, this record’s not a concept album.