After spending time in the band Dividing the Plunder, husband and wife Tasha and Justin Golden began work as Ellery. Combining the sounds of Sarah McLachlan, Ben Folds, and alternative folk, the Cincinnati-based couple wrote, recorded, and released the Make Your Troubles Mine EP on their own in 2005. Their hometown warmly received their debut with positive reviews appearing in local newspapers, while local public radio station WNKU put them in regular rotation. After a feature in Performing Songwriter magazine, Virt Records contacted the band, signed them, and sent them back into the studio to turn the EP into a full-length album. The result, Lying Awake, was released in 2006. ~ David Jeffries