In 2012, Transeau contacted Burns, who collaborated with him on albums such as the
These Hopeful Machines (2010) and
A Song Across Wires (2013), asking about forming a band, which Burns accepted. Before the band's informal announcement, they recorded 17 songs in the basement of a synthesizer store called AnalogLand in
Baltimore, without the use of a computer. Transeau said that the record was inspired by the teen angst of listening to synthpop bands from the 1980s and 1990s such as
Depeche Mode,
Yaz,
The Human League,
OMD and
The Blue Nile. He described it as "
synth wave". One of the songs, "Looking Glass", was available for download as a "Tweet for a Track" song from Twitter and Facebook. A first album was expected for release in the second half of 2012, but it was postponed so that both artists could finish their remaining solo projects. In October 2013, it was announced that musician
Vince Clarke would work with them on their album. On July 21, 2014, Transeau and Burns announced that their band would be touring with
Erasure in fall 2014 for the album
The Violet Flame. On August 24, 2016, the duo announced that it would release a four-track limited edition colored 12"
vinyl collectible
extended play with
Shopify on September 19, 2016, and the four songs were released on
iTunes on December 16, 2016, with more songs to be released later. On December 24, 2016, the duo released the song "
All Hail the Silent Night" for free to celebrate Christmas. On September 28, 2018, the duo released its first official single, "Diamonds in the Snow", with an accompanying music video.
Billboard reported that the band's album,
Daggers, would be released on January 18, 2019. ==Members==