Alex Ebert, the lead singer of Ima Robot, launched Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros in 2007 following a short stretch of personal questioning. The group, a devoted ten-piece indie rock ensemble, channeled the spirit of the tight-knit music scenes that flourished across Southern California—especially Laurel Canyon—during the 1960s and early 1970s. Their distinctive style blended echoes of Parliament, Polyphonic Spree, Bob Marley, and the Incredible String Band. At the time an eleven-piece unit, they issued the debut EP Here Comes in May 2009 and the album Up from Below that July. Strong live energy helped build their profile through frequent tours and several TV spots, among them repeated appearances on Late Night with David Letterman. In 2012 the band delivered Here—the first of two records they intended to release that year—which reached number five on the Billboard 200 and also appeared on charts in France and Australia. Their self-titled third album finally arrived in 2013, landing inside the U.S. Top 15. While band members pursued various solo endeavors, Ebert earned a Golden Globe in 2014 for his score to the Robert Redford film All Is Lost from the previous year. The full ten-piece lineup later adopted a tighter process, convening in one room to compose and track material together, resulting in the PersonA LP issued in spring 2016. Its artwork featured red lines striking through “Edward Sharpe and” to highlight collective identity.
