The Minks

Shaun Kilfoyle's project Minks offered a somber strain of indie pop whose earliest work invited parallels to the Cure, New Order, and My Bloody Valentine. Information about the band stayed minimal until Captured Tracks—a label also hosting kindred outfit Wild Nothing—issued the first single, Funeral Song, in April 2010. Later that summer Ophelia arrived and uncovered a gentler dimension within Minks' sound. Expanded to a six-piece, the group performed with Veronica Falls plus labelmates Cosmetics and Blank Dogs, steadily building anticipation that peaked when debut album By the Hedge appeared in January 2011. After vocalist Amalie Bruun exited to form Ex Cops, Kilfoyle steered the project toward a sleeker, airier style. A stay on Long Island's East End drew his attention to a dilapidated waterfront mansion called Tides End, the title he ultimately chose for the 2013 album he tracked with producer/engineer Mark Verbos.