Mysterious, eclectic electro-rock duo Flaunt were formed in 2014. Joseph Vitterito, a producer of electronic music from Maine, discovered Colorado singer and guitarist Justin Jennings on SoundCloud and asked him to contribute vocals to a couple of his tracks. Discovering they had common sensibilities, the pair decided to make the association permanent, collaborating long-distance over the Internet. Jennings' background was in rock and R&B, and the duo used the tension between the electronic and organic to create something unique and unexpected. Their debut album, Codon, was a laid-back affair; largely electronic, it took influence from a diverse range of genres, from trip-hop, drum'n'bass, and U.K. garage to glitch and electro-industrial. Its title track gave them their first minor hit, which appeared on the Billboard club chart. They increased their visibility by releasing a slew of singles and EPs on streaming services. Their follow-up album, 2016's Rave Noir, was a much more stylistically varied effort, incorporating more of Jennings' rock influences alongside elements of world music. It also saw them explore visual media by creating a music video for every track on the album. The Antics of More Youthful Times EP arrived in 2017, before Flaunt signed to Warner Bros. offshoot Nub Music for the release of their third album, Spectra, which marked another stylistic leap. Led by the single "Vows," its combination of pop/rock, dub, and R&B elements with literate, emotive lyrics, accomplished musicianship, and unfussy production recalled greats of the past like Talking Heads. ~ John D. Buchanan