Following the 2009 dissolution of his longtime band Apollo Sunshine, guitarist/vocalist/songwriter Sam Cohen began recording on his own in a bedroom studio, expanding on the same indie psych sound with understated country touches. Cohen enlisted some friends to flesh out the songs, and he released a few singles and a 2011 debut album, The Color. When working on songs for the follow-up album, Cohen chose to write solely on an acoustic guitar, hoping to create songs in an unpolished form before ornamenting them in the studio. This writing process resulted in 2013's sophomore album, Songs from the Vanished Frontier. ~ Fred Thomas