Mixtapes

Mixtapes came together in Cincinnati, Ohio during 2010 when Ryan Rockwell joined forces with Maura Weaver, then a high-school senior, to create aggressive yet melodic punk rock laced with pop hooks and lyrics that balanced sharp wit against personal introspection. The pair first crossed paths at the Mad Hatter, a neighborhood club, where each was navigating private struggles; they began trading song ideas as an off-the-cuff form of mutual support. Soon they resolved to assemble a band capable of performing the material live and, if possible, documenting it on record. That same year they self-produced the album Maps, released it under the Mixtapes name as a free download via Death to False Hope Records, and quickly expanded the lineup by recruiting bassist Michael Remley and drummer Boone Haley. By year’s end the quartet had issued the EP Thought About Growing Up. In the eighteen months following their formation they placed forty-eight songs with assorted labels across multiple formats, among them the acoustic collection How to Throw a Successful Party, while maintaining a steady tour schedule that eventually carried them overseas to Great Britain. In 2012 the group signed with No Sleep Records and delivered its debut full-length for the imprint, Even on the Worst Nights, which drew warm notices from the indie press; the follow-up album Ordinary Silence appeared on the same label before the close of 2013.