Raised in Argentina but schooled in Detroit rock, Elefant frontman Diego Garcia turned his focus to early '80s Britain when starting his new band, while never leaving the rock crunch too far behind. In 2002, armed with a moody stage demeanor that drove the ladies crazy, a stellar backing band, and a batch of signature tunes drawing on the swirling synth-pop of The Psychedelic Furs, The Smiths and The Cure, Garcia burst on the New York rock scene. The next year, Elefant issed their first studio full-length, Sunlight Makes Me Paranoid, on the upstart Kemado Records, a collection of dark, stylish paeans to fractured love. The band's brooding energy and crisp shimmering indie pop sound seem well-suited to this moment in rock; rooted in the innovations of the past without being defined by them, nicely complementing many of the other talented bands to emerge recently in New York without seeming derivative; ultimately drawing their strength from their own charisma and songwriting talent.