Origins (2004–2008) Hung and Power grew up in
Worcester. Hung was influenced by
Aphex Twin, while Power was a fan of
Mogwai. The duo signed to
All Tomorrow's Parties-affiliated
ATP Recordings in 2007, and released a limited-edition 7" single named "Bright Tomorrow", which received complimentary reviews from such sources as
Drowned in Sound,
Pitchfork (who described it as "something like the sun rising over the ocean... then going supernova"),
Mojo (it became their No. 1 Mojo Playlist Single for that month) and
Stereogum. Combined with an upsurge in reviews of their live performances at the Supersonic,
Truck and
Portishead-curated ATP festivals in the second half of 2007, this attention resulted in Fuck Buttons being included in many end of year newspaper, magazine and online articles predicting them as a 'Hot Tip' for 2008. These included New-Noise, who said that "rarely have two men sounded so much like the end of the world" and British newspaper
The Observer, which called their sound "a joyous racket of swirling atmospherics and percussive gunfire" in an article highlighting them in a new wave of intelligent, literate British pop music.
Street Horrrsing (2008–2009) 2008 They started the year with a tour of slightly larger UK venues, supported by label-mate
Alexander Tucker. This was done to build anticipation for their debut album,
Street Horrrsing, which was released on 17 March. Produced by
John Cummings of
Mogwai Tarot Sport (2009–2013) In 2009, the band appeared at the Australian
All Tomorrow's Parties event. They released their second album,
Tarot Sport in October 2009. while
AllMusic gave it a 4-star rating, describing it as "an impressive step forward for Fuck Buttons". Discussing it with
Exclaim! magazine, the band admitted that "direction is not something we are conscious about because it doesn't fit into our creative process. We just want to keep being content and surprising ourselves". "Surf Solar" and "Olympians" featured separately during the
2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony on 27 July 2012. "Sundowner" from Power's solo venture
Blanck Mass was covered by the London Symphony Orchestra during the raising of the
Union Jack. For the
Guardian, Louis Pattison described Fuck Buttons' style prior to the release of
Slow Focus as being inspired by
My Bloody Valentine,
Spacemen 3 and Mogwai, noting, however, that what distinguished them from their influences was the lack of prominent or traditional use of guitars; Pattison described this as "a sustained battery of fuzzed-out drones, crashing drums, and a cacophony of shrieks and cries". After an extensive world tour in support of
Slow Focus, the band went on hiatus while Power and Hung pursued solo projects. Following years of silence regarding new music, Hung made the confirmation on his
Twitter account in 2022 that the duo had officially broken up. ==Solo activities and side projects==