Lead singer of indie band The Neighbourhood, Jesse Rutherford has been making music since 2011. However, he and the band rose to stardom after the track “Sweater Weather” dropped in 2012. Rutherford has also released several solo projects, the most recent being GARAGEB& in 2017. Despite his recent experimentations with his own sound, Jesse continues to make music with the band. Their latest full-length album Chip Chrome & The Mono-Tones was released on September 25th.
The Neighbourhood has a pretty distinct guitar- and synth-heavy indie sound, although the band has dipped its toes into other genres over the years. They currently have 4 albums out: I Love You, which features the Billboard hit “Sweater Weather”, #000000 & #FFFFFF, Wiped Out!, And Hard To Imagine The Neighbourhood Ever Changing. The band’s albums tend to fall under the category of alt-rock, whereas Jesse’s solo music is more experimental. Critics didn’t expect much from the band following the success of “Afraid” and “Sweater Weather”, but, 7 years later, they’re still putting out quality music and exploring their sound.
Naturally, Rutherford is most widely known for his successful career in music. However, he also made multiple guest appearances in TV and film projects when he was young. As a kid, Jesse was featured in a Hallmark commercial. Later, he played the role of Daniel in the soap opera The Young and the Restless. He landed himself a few roles on the big screen as well, including the 2002 film Ted Bundy, the 2002 film Life or Something Like It, and the 2003 film Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star. It is safe to say that Jesse had been destined for the limelight from a pretty young age.
Jesse was born and raised in Newbury Park, California, a town in Ventura County. He was active in the Newbury Park music scene, having been in a few different bands before settling down with his current bandmates. The Neighbourhood was born when each member left their former band to create one together. Their biggest hit, “Sweater Weather”, was the first song they ever wrote together, so, naturally, the group was ecstatic when it began to skyrocket up the charts.
Rutherford has earned a fair amount of press recently for both his musical successes and his love life. He has been dating Wildflower Cases co-founder and model Devon Lee Carlson since early 2015, and the couple is a fan-favourite. They even won GQ’s couple of the year in 2019, resulting in even more adoration from the masses. Both of them are renowned for their unique sense of style, and the GQ article written about them after their win features quite a few outfit changes that confirm this.
Any alt-rock-lover or music enthusiast open to discovering a new artist should make sure to check out the Neighbourhood’s new album. The already-released singles have been top-tier, and the album is sure to follow suit.
Written by Alexa Nadeau