Originally called the Ladies and Gentlemen, Small Sins were initially a solo project for Thomas d'Arcy, conceived as a way to guide him back to the music he truly wanted to write after his old group, the Carnations, broke up. D'Arcy, who recorded the songs in various locations throughout Toronto over the span of a year, also played most of the instruments on the album. The Ladies and Gentlemen -- who tour as a band (Todor Kobakov and Kevin Hilliard on keys, Steve Krecklo on guitar, and Brent Follett on drums, most of whom also made appearances on the record itself) and perform in solid white outfits -- released their debut album, Small Sins, in 2005. After a successful showing at SXSW, Astralwerks signed the band, who then had to change their name due to copyright issues. They decided on Small Sins, and their now self-titled album hit U.S. soil (and was "re-released" in Canada) in 2006, and just the following year, their sophomore effort, Mood Swings, came out. ~ Marisa Brown