Crafting an unlikely but danceable mix of
Black Sabbath-style riffs, electro-house rhythms and synths à la
Daft Punk, and powerful vocals, Toronto, Ontario, Canada's
Lioness was formed in 1997 by
Controller.Controller's bassist Ronnie Morris and drummer
Jeff Scheven and vocalist Vanessa Fischer, formerly of No Dynamics. The trio's self-titled debut EP arrived on New Romantic Records in late 2008, and they played supporting gigs with
!!!,
Hercules & Love Affair, and
You Say Party! We Say Die! that featured
Scheven's background visuals. While the group continued to work on its music,
Scheven also directed videos for
TV on the Radio and
Diamond Rings. In mid-2011, the band convened in the studio with producer
Leon Taheny to record its debut album,
The Golden Killer, which was released in June 2012. ~ Heather Phares