* En anglais uniquement
London lo-fi rock trio
Let's Wrestle, comprising vocalist/lead guitarist
Wesley Patrick Gonzalez, bassist
Mike Hankin (who goes by the name
Mike Lightning), and drummer Darkus Bishop, formed in 2005. Their first recording, the 7" single "Song for ABBA Tribute Band," didn't come out, however, until May 2007 on the U.K. label Marquis Cha Cha, but it immediately gained them fans in the British music scene, including
Art Brut's
Eddie Argos, to whom
Gonzalez (whose stepfather is musician
Pete Astor) was often compared. In 2008, and signed to Stolen Recordings, the band released the EP In Loving Memory Of, followed by the full-length
In the Court of the Wrestling Let's in June 2009. The album, recorded in an East London basement, and whose title was a play on
King Crimson's
In the Court of the Crimson King, was well received by both the British and American press, and earned them comparisons to
the Fall, the aforementioned
Art Brut, and early
Wedding Present. The album was issued in the U.S. by Merge in the spring of 2010. The band's second album,
Nursing Home, was recorded in Chicago with
Steve Albini and was released by Merge in May of the next year. Soon after the album came out,
Mike Lightning left the group and was replaced by Sam Pillay.
Let's Wrestle next convened to work on their third album, which found them expanding their sound and adding just a touch of maturity. They also added guitarist Max Claps of
the Proper Ornaments to the lineup. The self-titled
Let's Wrestle was issued in early 2014 by Fortuna POP! ~ Marisa Brown