Originating from a 2011 encounter in Japan, the power poppy punk duo Lost Balloons took shape after Yusuke Okada of Suspicious Beasts recruited Jeff Burke from the Marked Men to record one track. Their sessions expanded to several songs and sparked an agreement to pursue a band project later. Once both had relocated from Japan to the U.S., they activated Lost Balloons fully, basing operations in Burke’s Texas studio. There the pair split songwriting and vocal duties on the self-titled debut album of energetic power pop tunes, issued by the German label Alien Snatch! in late 2015. Although Burke had already formed Radioactivity and Okada had launched Friend, their musical rapport remained firm and kept the collaboration alive. The partnership produced the June 2017 album Hey Summer on Dirtnap, whose sound proved more tightly arranged and punchy in its guitar pop approach.
