Braids

Canadian indie rock and roll/shoegaze ensemble Braids produced loud, somewhat experimental pop that owed much debt to several shoegaze bands from the ’90s. Featuring the abilities of keyboardist Raphaelle Standell-Preston, guitarist Katie Lee, guitarist Taylor Smith, and drummer Austin Tufts, Braids originally began as the Calgary-based music group a nearby Council. The four-piece released an EP before relocating to Montreal and changing its name. Braids released their debut full-length record, Native Loudspeaker, in early 2011. Afterwards that calendar year, the record was shortlisted for the Polaris Music Prize. After adding to the band’s second record, Flourish//Perish, Lee still left the group. In June 2013, the In Kind//Amends EP provided the first flavor of Braids’ even more streamlined, electronic-based audio. For 2015’s Deep in the Iris, the group documented in Vermont, upstate NY, as well as the mountains of Az, opting for a far more organic audio that highlighted Standell-Preston’s susceptible songwriting. The next year’s fittingly called Partner EP, which highlighted songs written through the Deep in the Iris period, continued within this direction.