Rare Americans

An exuberant Vancouver combo with a flair for the theatrical, Rare Americans found viral success with the genre-mashing indie pop-punk of songs like “Cats, Dogs & Rats” and “Brittle Bones Nicky.” Led by brothers James and Jared Priestner, the band have self-released three albums, including their eponymous 2018 debut and 2021′s Jamesy Boy & the Screw Loose Zoo.
The idea for the band came about almost as a dare when, during a 2018 vacation to the Caribbean, the two Priestner brothers decided on a whim to try and write an entire album together. After returning to Canada, they managed to knock out Rare Americans’ self-titled debut in just ten days with the help of their friend Lubo Ivan. Combining the energy of pop-punk with elements of rap, funk, pop, punk, and various other styles, the album became a streaming success in 2018, thanks especially to the melodic, ska-like “Cats, Dogs & Rats.” Their 2019 single “Brittle Bones Nicky” fared even better, notching millions of streams.
By this point, Rare Americans had expanded into a full six-piece band with the addition of Jan Cajka, Duran Ritz, and Ginger Chen, and they issued their follow-up, Rare Americans 2, in early 2021. Proving to be prolific as well as imaginative, the group’s third album, Jamesy Boy & the Screw Loose Zoo, arrived later that year. Another single, “Flashback,” was released in early 2022. ~ Timothy Monger