The Fresh & Onlys started as a collaboration between prolific frontman Tim Cohen and bassist Shayde Sartin. Drawing from a hodgepodge of influences (among them Buzzcocks, the Mekons, and Country Joe MacDonald), the band arrived at a grimy yet sunny pop sound along the lines of Saturday Looks Good to Me and Welcome with plenty of garage rock mixed in. After expanding their lineup to include guitarist Wymond Miles and others, their first EP, Imaginary Friends, arrived in 2008. With Cohen making albums with his neo-psychedelic band, Magic Trick, and Cohen and Miles both issuing solo records concurrently, the group continued to release albums and EPs every year or so. By 2017's Wolf Lie Down, they were down to the duo of Cohen and Miles. ~ Marcy Donelson