The Rosebuds

Indie rock trio the Rosebuds formed in May 2001, the same month that Ivan Howard (vocals/guitars) and Kelly Crisp (keyboards) were married. The two had met while in college in Wilmington, North Carolina, and upon forming the Rosebuds moved to Raleigh in the fall of 2001 and enlisted drummer Billy Alphin (of Ashley Stove). After a split 7", nearby Merge Records discovered their demo in early 2003 and released Make Out, their debut full-length, in October of that year. Following that recording, Alphin left the group and was replaced by Jonathan Bass, who himself was replaced by Lee Waters for the recording of the band's second album, 2005's Birds Make Good Neighbors. By the release of their third album for Merge, 2007's Night of the Furies, the Rosebuds were down to the duo of Howard and Crisp. On the record they were joined by numerous friends, including Matt McCaughan on drums and the Shout Out Louds on backing vocals. The duo returned to the studio in 2008 and released Life Like in October. In the time between Life Like and the duo's 2011 album, Loud Planes Fly Low, two important things happened: Howard joined the band Gayngs, whose soft rock-meets-soul sound influenced the Rosebuds; and more importantly, the duo's marriage ended. They dedicated themselves to keeping the band going, and with the production help of Chris Stamey and BJ Burton, made an album with all the emotional power you'd expect considering the circumstances behind its creation. Howard relocated to Portland, Oregon and Crisp settled in New York City, but the two maintained their working relationship and continued to write songs together. In 2014, the Rosebuds released Sand + Silence, which was recorded in Wisconsin with BJ Burton and Justin Vernon (of Bon Iver and Howard's bandmate in Gayngs) serving as producers. The album, a sunnier affair than Loud Planes Fly Low, was also the Rosebuds' first release for Western Vinyl Records after severing ties with Merge. ~ Kenyon Hopkin & Tim Sendra, Rovi