Pianos and a melodic sense greater than the usual punk-pop thrill set Orange County's Melee apart from their peers. Chris Cron (vocals/guitar), Rick Sanberg (guitar), Ryan Malloy (ba**), and Mike Nader (drums) formed the band in 1999 while still in their teens, and eventually signed with the Hopeless Records affiliate Sub City. While elements of punk revivalism and emo tinged the ends of Against the Tide, the quartet's debut for the label, Melee is much closer to the songwriting-driven modern rock sounds of a band like Rooney. The debut's crisp promise was muddled a bit on the 2004 full-length Everyday Behavior. However, even there Melee offered a little Coldplay and d**h Cab for Cutie to go with the usually youthful sound of the Sub City/Hopeless roster. While their sound was still developing as of 2005, it was pretty clear that Melee had future OC soundtrack appearances in mind, and there were even rumors of a new record deal with Warner Bros. ~ Johnny Loftus, All Music Guide