Based in Northampton, Massachusetts, the members of the four-piece worked day jobs (as a college writing instructor, a guitar teacher, a librarian, and a burger-stand employee) while playing shows in and around N.Y.C.'s five boroughs and recording their debut EP, Sports. In June of 2012, Exploding in Sound released that EP, and in 2013 their first full-length, Major Arcana, was released by Carpark Records. They returned early in 2014 with the Real Hair EP, which was mixed and recorded by alt-rock producer extraordinaire Paul Q. Kolderie and featured songwriting inspired by pop and R&B. Guitarist Devin McKnight joined the band for 2015's tighter second album Foil Deer, which Speedy Ortiz spent over a month recording in Brooklyn's Rare Book Room studio. ~ Jason Lymangrover