During a period when the quartet was shifting its base from San Francisco to Brooklyn, the polished indie-rock group formerly called the Morning Benders parted ways with bassist Tim Or and adopted the name POP ETC. Extensive touring had revealed that “bender” carried homophobic slang meanings in parts of the U.K., prompting the change. In an accompanying press release the band declared, “We simply cannot go on using a name that is demeaning to the gay community. The reason we are making music is to reach and unite as many different kinds of people as possible, and the idea that our name may be hateful towards anyone makes us sick.”
Retaining bandleader Chris Chu alongside multi-instrumentalists Julian Harmon and Jon Chu, the reconfigured lineup embraced a markedly more radio-ready aesthetic than the shimmery indie rock of their earlier work. An eponymous debut album, produced in part by Andrew Dawson—known for his work with Lil Wayne and Kanye West—and featuring additional production alongside Danger Mouse, appeared in summer 2012. After Chu reported that the intervening years had involved recording “hundreds” of songs, the ten-track follow-up Souvenir surfaced in early 2016.
In September 2017 the band launched the Infinite Singles Collection, issuing fresh material every four to six weeks. The series opened with “Fingerprints,” and by the close of the year three additional singles plus a Christmas EP had been added to the catalog.
