Faker

On the surface, it appeared as if the Australian band Faker had a rather difficult time releasing a record, seeing as the band formed in 1996 and didn't issue a debut album until 2005. The Sydney-based group remained busy during that nine-year period, however, weathering a storm of lineup changes (although the band's focal point, vocalist Nathan Hudson, remained firmly in place) and releasing two EPs in 2001, both of which gained a fair amount of airplay on the radio network Triple J. Faker's aforementioned debut full-length, Addicted Romantic, was a sizable enough hit -- peaking at number 44 and earning a nomination for the J Award -- to warrant two follow-up EPs in 2005. A sophomore album, Be the Twilight, then appeared in 2007. Be the Twilight, produced by Paul Fox (who had worked with such artists as XTC and Björk) was the band's first effort to break the Top 40 barrier, debuting at number 37 on the Australian ARIA charts before climbing to number 24. ~ Chris True