Architecture in Helsinki, an Australian indie pop ensemble originating from Fitzroy in Melbourne, once included the multi-instrumentalists Cameron Bird, James Cecil, Gus Franklin, Isobel Knowles, Jamie Mildren, Sam Perry, Tara Shackell, and Kellie Sutherland. Their sonic palette extended well beyond conventional rock tools to encompass analog synths and samplers, glockenspiel, tuba, clarinet, and recorder alongside drums, bass, and guitar. The group began performing together in 2000, shaping a blend of indie, electronic, and pop elements that they captured on recordings and delivered in occasional live settings. Work on their debut album, Fingers Crossed, commenced in 2002 across an assortment of locations from beach houses to professional studios, leading to its spring 2004 release on Bar/None. After an intense period of touring and further recording, the collective delivered In Case We Die in 2005; the album earned widespread acclaim and established Architecture in Helsinki among that year’s most distinctive and promising indie outfits. Frontman and chief songwriter Bird moved to Brooklyn the following year, where he and producer James Cecil completed the third album, Places Like This, issued by Polyvinyl in 2007. Upon Bird’s return to Australia, the band—now reduced to a quintet of Perry, Mildren, Sutherland, and Franklin—issued the single That Beep in 2008. Over the next two years they tracked their fourth album at their own Buckingham Palace studio, resulting in Moment Bends, which appeared in early 2011. The pronounced shift toward ’80s synth pop heard on that record continued on the subsequent release, which also reflected a growing affinity for disco. Crafted and laid down across a 15-month period, 2014’s NOW + 4EVA was produced by the band alongside François Tetaz (Gotye, Kimbra) and appeared on their own Casual Workout imprint.
