Formed at the end of 2008 as a bedroom recording project, Small Black first made waves with their eponymous debut EP. Recorded in the attic of singer Josh's uncle's remote Long Island beach-house/surfboard workshop, it served as an introduction to the group with its pulsing patchwork synths and hooks that seemed to unfurl themselves gradually over repeated listens. Slightly more immediate and polished than its predecessor, Small Black's debut LP New Chain remained a continuation of this contrasting ethos -- a delirious smudging of the lines between melancholy and nostalgia, tension and celebration, unabashed pop music and experimentation.