Fronted by Samantha Urbani and Lesley Hann, the band began as an extension of Urbani's home recordings, made with drum loops and effects-laden vocal tracks, something she'd done for years but kept to herself due to stage fright. Wanting to get the songs out of her system, in 2010 she began sharing them with friends -- among them, future groupmates Matthew Molnar and Nikki Shapiro -- while she traveled to Berlin for the summer. A twist of city-living fate (bedbugs) led to Hann and friend Oliver Duncan staying at Urbani's place for a spell, and within a week of sharing her demos with the pair, the band was born. Playing a steady stream of shows through 2010 and into 2011, Friends ranked in the NME's Best New Bands list and signed to the Lucky Number label, where they released three singles and, in June of 2012, their full-length debut, Manifest! The album was co-released by Fat Possum and featured all the previously issued singles. ~ Chrysta Cherrie