Prior to Calpurnia's formation, Finn Wolfhard had met drummer Malcolm Craig in 2014, on the set of the music video for "Guilt Trip" by
PUP, while guitarist Ayla Tesler-Mabe was a friend from rock camp and bassist Jack Anderson was recruited for a charity fundraiser. The band officially formed in 2017, with their first release being a cover of "Wanted You" by
Twin Peaks. The band signed with the Canadian independent record label
Royal Mountain Records in November 2017 and began recording an
EP, with Cadien Lake James of Twin Peaks producing and engineering. In January 2018, the band performed at the
Rough Trade in New York City, covering "
Here She Comes Now" by
The Velvet Underground, "
Where Is My Mind?" by
Pixies, "
El Scorcho" by
Weezer and "Butterfly" by Twin Peaks. The band's official debut, "City Boy", was released on 7 March 2018 and was the
lead single of their then-unannounced
Scout EP. The single debuted at No. 23 on the
Billboard Alternative Digital Song Sales chart with sales of 2,000
units. The second single, "Louie", was released by the band on 12 April, with the band simultaneously announcing the forthcoming release of the
Scout EP, slated for 15 June 2018. The band made their television debut on 23 July 2018 as the musical guest on
Jimmy Kimmel Live. In February 2019, Weezer featured the four members of Calpurnia as the stars of their new music video for their cover of the
a-ha track "
Take On Me," from the album
Weezer (The Teal Album). The video takes a trip back to the 1980s, paying tribute to the original music video by
a-ha. The decision to have Calpurnia participate in the video was solidified after Weezer had requested the band cover their hit song "
Say It Ain't So" for Spotify's
Under Cover podcast in 2018. The band announced on
Instagram that they had split up on 8 November 2019. ==Band members==