Specializing in a heady mix of polyrhythmic, psych-tinged art-rock and sugary, soulful indie pop, colorful Wisconsin-based pop sextet PHOX was formed in 2011 in the city of Baraboo (an hour north of Madison) around the talents of longtime friends Monica Martin, Matt Holmen, J. Sean Krunnfusz, Davey Roberts, Matteo Roberts, and Zach Johnston, all of whom met in high school. The band, who describe their unique, cosmopolitan sound as falling somewhere between "Feist and Monty Python," became a much buzzed about fixture in the Midwest before inking a deal with the respected, Brooklyn-based indie label Partisan Records, who would go on to issue the group's eponymous 2014 debut long-player. ~ James Christopher Monger