For the better part of the 21^st Century, Craigslist has been used an abundance of things, both good and bad. As the modern day classifieds section, people looking for jobs, furniture and even bandmates can be had on the popular website. That’s how the two musicians behind Los Angeles’ Capital Cities, Ryan Merchant and Sebu Simonian, found each other, albeit for a different project.

When you’re not groaning when a commercial comes on during a live television broadcast, have you ever paid attention to the background music behind an ad? If you say yes, you’re probably lying or just fooling yourself. Anyway, Capital Cities cut their teeth writing and creating the background sounds for these particular brands and commercials. Experimenting with different music to fit a particular commercial allowed for the duo to slowly carve out their out sound and figure out what they wanted to be as musicians. Many people don’t have the luxury of finding themselves creatively while retaining a ‘day job’ as working musicians, but as the talented composers got more efficient at cranking out instrumental tracks for ad agencies, they were able to start focusing on their own careers.

With both Merchant and Simonian’s strong musical backgrounds (the former studied music and the latter has been a longtime studio owner), their knowledge enabled them to carefully craft a sound that suited their personalities. Serious and quirky, the duo have taken electro-pop and made it smarter with their insightful lyrics and complicated, yet fun and danceable. Their EP cover photo sums up the vibe nicely.

Support for bands comes from funny places and for Capital Cities, that place was Peru. Through the power of the Internet, their first single, the delightfully upbeat “Safe and Sound” ended up becoming a big hit down there to the point where they played several shows in South America before hitting the States. The song mixes laidback electro-pop, which is so infectious that it’s impossible to listen to only once.

As unconventional as that may seem, it pales in comparison to how the band broke here. Before satellite radio leveled the playing field, bands would found it nearly impossible to get heard. Alas, when SiriusXM’s Alt Nation picked up “Safe and Sound”, it flew up the charts and eventually hit No. 1 and has been a fixture there for months. Add to that placements on the new 90210 and in promotional campaigns for HBO, Smart Car and more than half a dozen other spots, there’s the recipe for selling more than 82,000 singles. The band’s video for “Safe and Sound” has more than one million views. Not bad for an unsigned band.

In December, that all changed when Capital Cities, fittingly, inked with Capitol Records. The label reissued their previously self-released EP and there’s a full-length on the way slated to be released later this year. In addition to appearances at SXSW and Ultra Festival in March, they’ll be hitting the road for their first ever American tour, which will be a two month jaunt, culminating with an appearance Los Angeles’ El Rey Theater. With catchy tunes and a lively stage show, it’s impossible to not like these guys, especially when there aren’t many bands doing what they are. With Modern Rock and AAA radio starting to take notice, don’t be surprised if Capital Cities conquer the traditional methods as well. Not bad for a two dudes who met on Craigslist.