A Swedish indie rock quartet with a penchant for pairing soulful and occasionally funky cinematic pop with rootsy, American heartland-inspired country folk-rock, Deportees formed in 2003 around the talents of brothers Peder (vocals) and Anders Stenberg (guitar), and Thomas Hedlund (drummer) and Mattias Lidström (keyboard). Based in Umeå, the band issued their genre-hopping debut album, All Prayed Up, in 2004, which landed a pair of Swedish Grammy nominations. Their 2006 sophomore outing, Damaged Goods, dialed back on the quirky funk that served as the foundation for their debut, and introduced elements of outlaw country into their already eclectic sound. While on tour, the band struck up a friendship with French indie pop unit Phoenix, who enlisted drummer Hedlund to split his time between the two bands, while guitarist Stenberg partnered up with Lykke Li. In 2009, the group issued their third studio long player, the critically acclaimed and politically charged Under the Pavement: The Beach, which yielded a major-label bidding war. Islands & Shores, the band's fourth outing and first for Universal, followed in 2011. The album went gold and earned the group their first Grammy win, as well as the National Public Radio prize for Band of the Year. In 2015, Deportees released LP number five, The Big Sleep.
