Eureka Birds

Hailing from Baltimore, Maryland, the atmospheric indie pop ensemble Eureka Birds has built a devoted East Coast audience on the strength of its rich yet understated sonic palette. The project originated in 2007 under singer, composer, keyboard player, and multi-instrumentalist Justin Levy, who drew inspiration from the Decemberists and Radiohead, even though he had already begun composing material for the endeavor three years earlier. Once Levy teamed with guitarist Dave Rogoza, the pair assembled a compact ensemble featuring strings and horns to capture the band’s self-titled debut album in 2008, an effort produced and engineered by Tyler Watkins of Margot & the Nuclear So and So’s. Returning to Watkins in 2010, Eureka Birds tracked the more economical and unadorned EP Eureka!, on which the producer also contributed bass. Although the group performed in shifting formats, ranging from a full ensemble to a duo pairing Levy with multi-instrumentalist Kevin Collins, a settled configuration emerged by 2013 that added bassist Scott Hesel and drummer Dan Vellucci to the core of Levy and Rogoza. With Watkins again behind the board, this lineup recorded the follow-up full-length Strangers; its lead single, “Mila Don’t Make a Sound,” appeared in August 2013 ahead of the album’s scheduled October release.