Treetop Flyers

In 2009 a circle of friends who had crossed paths while performing in assorted bands across the London region formed Treetop Flyers. Their folk-rock approach secured victory in the Glastonbury Festival emerging talent competition of 2011, which in turn delivered a main-stage appearance that year featuring material from the 2009 debut EP To Bury the Past. The five-piece lineup comprised Reid Morrison on lead vocals and guitar, Sam Beer on vocals and guitar, Laurie Sherman on guitar, Matthew Starritt on vocals and bass, and American Tomer Danan on vocals and drums. Their first label affiliation came with Communion Records, co-founded by Ben Lovett of Mumford & Sons, which issued the single "It's About Time" in 2011. Although the imprint remained open to further singles and EPs, the band chose to pursue a full-length album elsewhere. Shared bills with the Lumineers helped attract the attention of Loose Music in the U.K. and Partisan in the U.S., both of which supported the release of the debut album The Mountain Moves. Recorded in America under the guidance of producer Noah Georgeson, whose prior credits include Devendra Banhart and Adam Green, the set reached stores in spring 2013. A stretch of personal and collective disruption, marked in part by the departure of original bassist Matthew Starritt, prompted the quintet—now augmented by Ned Crowther on bass—to retreat to their own Soup Studios in London for the sophomore project. Self-produced and mixed by Jonathan Wilson, whose résumé lists Father John Misty and Conor Oberst, the sessions embraced a more experimental stance while retaining the classic '70s-inspired rock foundation of the first album. Palomino emerged at the start of 2016.