Hailing from Newbury Park, California, upstart indie band The Neighbourhood finds its influences as diverse as hip-hop (where lead vocalist Jesse Rutherford had his musical beginnings) and the classic black and white aesthetic that often dominates their music videos and outfits. The current members are Jesse, Jeremy Freedman and Zach Abels (guitarists), and Mikey Margott (bassist). The Neighbourhood is often abbreviated to “The NBHD,” and the band are easily recognisable by their signature upside-down house logo, which is tattooed on every band member.

With the release of extended plays Thank You, and I’m Sorry…, the band quickly accumulated a cult fanbase. Following the rising success of their hit single “Sweater Weather,” the band released their debut album in 2013 entitled I Love You. to a far wider popularity than that which preceded them. The band have also gained traction over the years by touring with artists like Travis Scott, Danny Brown, Imagine Dragons and Charli XCX.

In eary 2014, the band’s then-drummer Bryan Sammis left the band, and he would later claim during a 2018 Instagram live that Jesse “kicked” him out, citing creative differences. He was replaced with Brandon Fried. The same year, they dropped the long-awaited #000000 & #FFFFFF, a “black and white” mixtape showcasing their full-blown abilities intertwined with the hip-hop world. It became available for free download through DatPiff. Hosted by the critically acclaimed Don Cannon and DJ Drama, the new songs calmed the waters for fans desperately awaiting a follow-up effort from their debut. A version of the project without DJ tags was published later in 2016.

“R.I.P. 2 My Youth” premiered on KROQ as a lead single on August 20th, 2015, in which a sophomore album name was finally revealed. After the release of two more singles (“The Beach” and “Prey”), Wiped Out! was released on October 30th, 2015.

In 2017, the band initiated their “playlist” campaign. This started with the Hard EP, which was released on September 22nd, 2017. Later in the year, “Scary Love” was premiered by Zane Lowe on Beats 1 Radio and a follow-up EP to Hard was announced. Titled To Imagine, the 5-track project dropped January 12th, 2018.

Self-titled The Neighbourhood, the band’s third studio album was released on March 9th, 2018 alongside a music video for “Scary Love” starring Tommy Wiseau. On September 21st, 2018, the band released the Ever Changing EP, featuring guest appearances from Denzel Curry, Nipsey Hussle and others. On November 2nd, 2018, a compilation album was released entitled Hard to Imagine the Neighbourhood Ever Changing featuring almost every track from the entire campaign. Following this, the self-titled LP was removed from all streaming platforms, along with the Hard, To Imagine, and Ever Changing EPs. The reason(s) for this are somewhat unclear.

On September 25th, 2020, the band released their fourth official studio album, the final to be released under their contract with Columbia Records. Heavily inspired by the story and style of David Bowie’s alter ego Ziggy Stardust (used through 1972 and 1973), the band introduce a new persona to their discography: the silver alien Chip Chrome (impersonated by Rutherford) and his shadowy band, The Mono-Tones.

On February 22nd, 2022, many sources stated that the band was going on hiatus. On November 13th, 2022, María Zardoya of The Marías came forward alleging Brandon Fried, the band’s drummer at-the-time, of sexually assaulting her. Fried was subsequently ousted from the band, and a new drummer to replace him has yet to be announced.