Crystal Stilts

Brad Hargett and JB Townsend established the multi-influenced indie rock outfit Crystal Stilts in New York during 2003. Their initial output, consisting of assorted singles plus an EP, appeared on the Feathery Tongue label in 2004, beginning with the single “Shattered Shine.” A string of local performances followed, leading to a five-song EP issued by Woodsist in 2008. Later that year Slumberland put out the band’s debut full-length album, Alight of Night. Although the duo handled the recordings, Kyle Forester on keyboards, Andy Adler on bass, and Frankie Rose—previously of Vivian Girls—on drums augmented the lineup for concerts and the accompanying tour. After participating in the 2009 road schedule, Rose departed to launch Frankie Rose & the Outs. The remaining members, now featuring Keegan Cooke on drums, prepared their sophomore album, In Love with Oblivion, which Slumberland released in April 2011. Only months afterward they issued the Radiant Door EP through Sacred Bones. Retaining the Sacred Bones affiliation while broadening their palette to embrace soul, country, and folk influences, the group delivered Nature Noir in fall 2013.