Tall Firs

Tall Firs emerged in 1990 under the banner of "underground electric folk," launched by teenage singer-guitarists Dave Mies and Aaron Mullen while both were still based in Annapolis, Maryland. The two learned guitar together by mastering material from Circle Jerks and Sex Pistols, yet waited until 2001 before performing live. During those years Mullen collaborated with Chris Corsano, engineered sessions for other acts, and served as guitar tech for Sonic Youth, while Mies performed in multiple Baltimore groups. Once the pair reunited in New York City they began performing and tracking material, later adding drummer Ryan Sawyer—veteran of an early At the Drive-In lineup who had also worked with the Fiery Furnaces and TV on the Radio—to finalize the trio. On Thurston Moore’s Ecstatic Peace label they cut their hypnotic self-titled debut in Sonic Youth’s rehearsal room and issued it in 2006. Following concerts alongside Celebration, Shellac, and Awesome Color plus a slot at the U.K.’s All Tomorrow’s Parties, the band delivered Too Old to Die Young in spring 2008. For their third album Mies and Mullen reverted to their original guitar-duo format while preserving the unvarnished directness heard on Too Old to Die Young; the resulting Out of It and Into It appeared as their first ATP release in March 2012.