Washington, D.C.-based indie rock band the Recoys played stripped-down, deliberately primitive garage-influenced rock & roll fortified with plenty of reverb and a side order of cheeky swagger. The Recoys were formed in 1996 by singer and guitarist Hamilton Leithauser and guitarist Peter Bauer, who had known one another since fifth grade and were just 17 when the group debuted. Inspired by local heroes the Make-Up and D.C.-bred/New York-based Jonathan Fire*Eater, Leithauser and Bauer decided to form a band that offered a more playful and less aggressive variation on similar musical themes. Teaming with drummer Hugh McIntosh (another grade-school friend), guitarist Damon Hege, and bassist Mike Sheehan, the Recoys began playing out at local high schools, all ages clubs, and bars willing to take a chance on the teenagers. Once they turned 19, the Recoys became regulars at the Black Cat, one of D.C.'s hippest venues, and they started touring along the East Coast, eventually relocating to Boston. The Recoys drew appreciative audiences in Washington, D.C., and Boston, but didn't seem to fare well elsewhere, and their first release, a three-song EP, came and went with little notice. The Recoys began work on an album, cutting a handful of songs at the well-known Inner Ear Studios in Arlington, Virginia, shortly before the band pulled up stakes once again and made its way to New York City. By the end of 1999, the Recoys had become frustrated with their lack of progress, and they chose to break up, leaving the album unfinished. In 2000, Leithauser and Bauer would team up with three former members of Jonathan Fire*Eater to form the celebrated indie rock band the Walkmen, while McIntosh went on to work with the French Kicks and the Child Ballads. In 2003, Troubleman Unlimited released The Rekoys, an album that brought together the three-track EP and seven songs from the unfinished album; the title came from an alternate spelling of the group's name. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi