With a name inspired by Arcade Fire's first album, Irish alt-pop outfit Funeral Suits formed in 2008, recording a handful of singles before hooking up with acclaimed Brit-pop producer Stephen Street. Under his stewardship, they began work on their debut album, emerging first in 2011 with the brightly colored single "Colour Fade." Mixing electronics and buoyant guitar pop, their first full-length, Lily of the Valley, arrived a year later on Dublin-based indie Ruby Works. Several years of touring both in Europe and the U.S. followed as the band slowly began work on their follow-up. Recording in Germany with producer Jochen Schmalbach, they delivered a new EP, Tree of Life, in April of 2016, following up in November of that year with their sophomore album, Islands Apart. Prior to the album's release, Funeral Suits announced that it would be their last as they planned to disband shortly afterward. ~ Timothy Monger