About This Album
Long before open conversations about mental health in the music industry became widespread, the creative lead of the project behind this release established himself as a pioneering voice, unafraid to speak publicly about his own experience living with bipolar disorder at a time when few mainstream pop creators shared such vulnerable, personal struggles. That same drive to connect with audiences through unvarnished, intentional creativity traces all the way back to the project’s origins, when it began as a small, college-born side project meant only to make the lead’s friend group dance, far from the internationally recognized pop institution it would grow into. The first formal iteration of the band formed in 2007, bringing together a core lineup of Ian Hultquist, Ayad Al Adhamy, Jeff Apruzzese, and Nate Donmoyer alongside the project’s founder, laying the groundwork for a string of releases that would shape 2010s pop and earn cross-genre critical and commercial acclaim.
