Line-up:George Barnett - Drums, Tapes, Contact MicsThomas Hein - Sampler, Bass, Midi, Contact MicsSophie Sleigh-Johnson - KeyboardsJack Barnett - Vocals, Guitar, Laptop, etc.
These New Puritans (sometimes abbreviated to TNPS) are a British art rock band from the Southend-on-Sea area. The group consists of Jack Barnett (songwriter, producer, vocalist, multi-instrumentalist), his twin brother George Barnett (drums, loops), Thomas Hein (bass guitar, sampler, drums), and Sophie Sleigh-Johnson (keyboards, sampler). They have recorded two albums, Beat Pyramid, released in 2008, and Hidden, released in 2010.
In a 2008 interview, Jack Barnett said that hip hop ensemble Wu-Tang Clan, especially member RZA, influenced the first album Beat Pyramid. Other inspirations include the electronic music of Aphex Twin and the cartoon series The Smurfs. At the time, Artrocker described These New Puritans as sounding like "Sheffield and Berlin synths, '90s alt rock Sonic Youth and Yo La Tengo drones, Underworld beats; and all in the most contemporary of contexts".[citation needed] Unusually for a rock group, the band often incorporate the same section of music into different songs as refrains.