Priory

Forming the Portland, Oregon duo Priory, Brandon Rush and Kyle Sears craft relaxed, unconventional pop built on electronic rhythms yet incorporating abundant guitar textures and their sweetly blended vocal harmonies. The pair first connected during the early 2000s as housemates in a dilapidated multi-tenant bachelor pad, where a lasting friendship soon developed around their mutual passion for music. After collaborating on material for several years, they assembled a full band and issued a folk-inspired self-titled album through the Expunged label in 2011. Disappointed by the outcome, they shelved the project. Reducing the lineup back to a duo, they resigned from day jobs, constructed a fresh studio inside a former cement plant, and overhauled their style; Warner Bros. then responded favorably to the brighter, pop-oriented direction by signing them and issuing their debut single, the relaxed summer anthem "Weekend," in June 2014. Later that year the label released a four-song EP also titled Weekend, after which the group embarked on its first tour. Their second album, Need to Know, followed in April 2015.