Biography
Los Angeles-based Ex-Poets formed as a moody indie rock duo around vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Colin Killalea together with multi-instrumentalist Jordan Brooks. The two first appeared in public as members of Albert Hammond, Jr.’s touring and recording band before issuing their own 2018 single “Colorguard” under the Ex-Poets name.
Brooks and Killalea originally crossed paths as music students at New York’s The New School. In 2007 they launched the group Pocketknife alongside drummer Robbie Sinclair, played numerous local shows, and eventually disbanded. Killalea later relocated to a friend’s farm in Virginia, where he continued performing with Natalie Prass and Juliana Daugherty. Brooks maintained his own schedule, working with Sondre Lerche, Lee Fields, and John Congleton. Despite the distance, the pair stayed in contact and began exchanging musical sketches online.
They were subsequently recruited into Albert Hammond, Jr.’s band, spending the following years on the road and in the studio with the Strokes guitarist. During off hours away from those commitments, they often tracked material at a friend’s Williamsburg studio. After moving to Los Angeles, they issued their first Ex-Poets album, Too Much Future, in 2018; the record contained the single “Colorguard.”
Brooks and Killalea originally crossed paths as music students at New York’s The New School. In 2007 they launched the group Pocketknife alongside drummer Robbie Sinclair, played numerous local shows, and eventually disbanded. Killalea later relocated to a friend’s farm in Virginia, where he continued performing with Natalie Prass and Juliana Daugherty. Brooks maintained his own schedule, working with Sondre Lerche, Lee Fields, and John Congleton. Despite the distance, the pair stayed in contact and began exchanging musical sketches online.
They were subsequently recruited into Albert Hammond, Jr.’s band, spending the following years on the road and in the studio with the Strokes guitarist. During off hours away from those commitments, they often tracked material at a friend’s Williamsburg studio. After moving to Los Angeles, they issued their first Ex-Poets album, Too Much Future, in 2018; the record contained the single “Colorguard.”
Albums
Singles
