Strange Neighbors is a power pop outfit from New York City. Their music combines influences from all corners of pop music, crafting hook-filled songs that are bound to get stuck in your head. The band draws inspiration from a diverse range of artists, and have been described as a Queer mix of My Chemical Romance, The Beatles, and IRS-era R.E.M.
Founded in Brooklyn by lead singer Aidan Strange in 2018, the band’s current lineup is a sleek four-piece with traditional rock instrumentation. Aidan channels a pop punk passion by way of a teenage career in musical theatre. Drummer Beau Valentine contributes a similarly theatrical edge from behind the kit. Bassist Dana Bennewitz brings her jazz background to the band’s intricate underpinnings, and guitarist Zach Schweikert adds a jangly touch with his nearly exclusive use of a 12-string guitar.
The band writes songs as group, with the common goal of a finely-crafted earworm. Strange Neighbors self-released their first album, How to Human, in 2019, followed by a series of singles collected on the Illuminasti (2020) and Party of None (2023) EPs. They released "Quiet Beat," a cover of an unreleased Doug Hopkins song, in September 2023. In November 2025, the band joined the Mint 400 Records roster.
Photo by Grace Puffer