Los Angeles, CA · new-wave

The Motels

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Martha Davis's smoky torch-song new wave — noir atmosphere on the radio, 'Only the Lonely' still aching.

The band that became The Motels started as the Warfield Foxes, formed in Berkeley, California in 1971 by bassist Lisa Brenneis, guitarists Dean Chamberlain and Chuck Wada, and singer Martha Davis. Chasing a recording contract, they moved to Los Angeles in 1975, renamed themselves Angels of Mercy, then settled on The Motels once Davis and Wada's original songs became the group's core material.

That lineup broke up before releasing an album: after Warner Bros. passed on a demo, Capitol Records offered a contract, and the band turned it down over musical differences and split. Davis regrouped in 1978 with guitarist Jeff Jourard, adding his brother Marty on saxophone and keyboards, bassist Michael Goodroe and drummer Brian Glascock, and the new Motels rehearsed alongside The Go-Go's and built a following playing Hollywood clubs like Madame Wong's.

The band, signed to Capitol in 1979, built its early identity on Davis's low, unhurried voice set against saxophone and reverbed guitar, giving the songs a lounge-noir edge that stood apart from more frantic new wave peers. Early singles struggled at home: "Closets and Bullets" made no chart impact, though "Total Control" reached the top ten in Australia and the top twenty in France, and "Danger" hit No. 15 in France.

The band's commercial peak came with "Only the Lonely" and "Suddenly Last Summer", both of which reached No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100, in 1982 and 1983 respectively, and remain the songs most associated with the group.

The Motels broke up in the late 1980s. Davis revived the band in 1998 under the name Motels featuring Martha Davis, touring with various lineups of musicians, and has performed since 2013 as Martha Davis and The Motels alongside her own solo work.

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new-wave