About Rooney
Hometown
Los Angeles, CA, United States
Formed
1999
Genre
Pop
Rooney’s punchy power pop is the sound of modern love and anxiety veiled in classic Southern California comfort. Spearheaded by Los Angeles native Robert Schwartzman (brother of actor/musician Jason Schwartzman), the band has kept their sound sufficiently sun-soaked—and very much West Coast-informed—since forming in 1999. Helped along by some high-profile shows with bands like Phantom Planet and The Strokes, Rooney dropped their 2003 self-titled debut album to plenty of anticipation, but it was a game-changing appearance on the hit TV show The O.C. in 2004 that brought them a bigger pop fanbase. (They’d even go on to open for Kelly Clarkson and Jonas Brothers.) Still, the band kept to their retro-rock roots with the guitar-powered, keyboard-glossed hooks of 2007’s Calling the World and 2010’s Eureka. While the lineup has shifted over time, Schwartzman remains Rooney’s heart and soul, crafting some of his brightest melodies yet on 2016’s Washed Away, another ode to vintage pop and the palm-swaying California of people's dreams.
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