Pen Expers

Pen Expers plays doom rock 'n' roll — blues-based rock in which melody, attitude and raw emotion all play equal parts.

Reviewers often draw parallels to the music of Nick Cave and Tom Waits, which are badges of honor for Pen Expers, whose main sources of influence are The Birthday Party, The Icarus Line and Swans.

In 2011, the members of Pen Expers got a unique chance to collaborate with some of their heroes, when a split 7" vinyl with The Icarus Line was released. Joe Cardamone and his Los Angeles-based rock gang contributed the previously unreleased "Raise Your Crown" to the split, and Pen Expers contributed "iwannadoher" from the 2010 album "Dirty Tender Love". (Read more about the split 7" in Alexander's blog post.)

The band got its start in Gothenburg, Sweden, which is still its home, when founding members Alexander Arvman and Mikael Romanenko began recording music together in the early 2000s. The name Pen Expers is from a track by Autechre, a British electronic duo that Alexander has expressed his respect for by having Autechre's entire discography tattooed on his right arm. (Read more in Alexander's blog post about how the band got its start and picked its name.)