The Secret History are a New York based indie pop/art rock group formed in 2007 by cult songwriter Michael Grace Jr and members from his previous group My Favorite, alongside vocalist Lisa Ronson (daughter of Glam rock legend Mick Ronson.) Their first release was the "Desolation Town" e.p. in 2008, on the boutique indie label Le Grand Magistery, which had previously been home to many artists Grace admired, including Momus[[1]] and Stars[[2]].
Their debut LP, 2010's "The World That Never Was," (Le Grand Magistery) was an under-the-radar critical success, landing on best-of lists from Allmusic.com, Spectrum Culture, Venus Zine, Punknews.org, and influential public radio station KEXP (in addition to cracking the CMJ Top 200 for college radio airplay overall.) It was also listed amongst the best records of the year by Kip Berman of The Pains of Being Pure at Heart in the NME.
The Secret History music continues many of the themes which brought My Favorite acclaim amongst esoteric fans of indie pop[pop]. Michael Grace Jr is among indie's most conceptual songwriters, and "The World That Never Was" is unified by variations on b-movie monster, pulp horror and ghost stories. Elements of Catholic mysticism (particularly on the track Our Lady Of Palermo) find an uneasy place beside them. Musically, some of the more shambling synth and "twee" aspects of My Favorite are replaced by more muscular references to glam and art rock, but principle influences like The Smiths, Prefab Sprout, Bowie/Eno, The Velvet Underground and C86 remain. Their is also the tangible influence of 60s girl groups in tracks like "Our Lady Of Stalingrad,' and "Johnny Nightmare."
A video for the single "Johnny Anorak," was directed by filmmaker and creative director Ben Hughes, and featured Jed Smith of the band My Teenage Stride in the title role.