Quilt

The brainchild of Shane Butler and Anna Fox Rochinski, who formed the band while studying at Boston's School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Quilt craft psychedelic pop that evokes '60s idealism without feeling too indebted to it. Butler was raised in a spiritual community that expressed itself with musical chanting, while Rochinski's flair for vocal harmonies came from her time in classical choirs. With founding drummer Taylor McVay, Quilt issued several cassettes' worth of material before working with Apollo Sunshine's Jesse Gallagher on their self-titled debut album for the better part of a year; Mexican Summer released Quilt late in 2011. McVay departed the band amicably, making way for John Andrews, who opened for the band on every stop of its 2009 tour. Their time on the road honed their playing and writing, and when it came time to record their second album in April 2013 with Woods' Jarvis Taveniere, Quilt spent 60 hours a week in the studio underneath Mexican Summer's Brooklyn office. Widening their palette to include bass, saxophone, and strings, Quilt released their second album, Held in Splendor, in January 2014.