Will Knauer and Philip Dickey were friends in high school. Phil and John Robert Cardwell met in 2002 during their freshman year of college and started writing songs together. From 2002 to 2004, the group recorded demos at home and in their dorm rooms while playing local shows in Springfield and Columbia, Missouri. The group's first release was a split EP with the vocal duo Gwyn and Grace in 2004. In Fall 2004 the group began recording their first full-length album, Broom, at Knauer's house, which is featured in much of the band's artwork. Broom was released in March 2005. The debut was seen as an indie success, and received favorable press in Spin Magazine and internet buzz from blogs like and , while Pitchfork gave the album an average rating, 6.9/10.0. Shortly after releasing Broom, SSLYBY released a split record with Michael Holt, formerly of the Mommyheads, on Catbird Records in 2005. In February 2006, the band went on their first national support tour opening up for Catfish Haven. On the same tour, the group recorded their first session for the music website Daytrotter. Later that year, the band's song "Oregon Girl" was featured on an episode of The OC. The group signed to Polyvinyl Records in June 2006 and re-released Broom in October 2006. Because the original version of the album was recorded by the band with their own equipment, it was not professionally mastered to the same level as most industry-standard releases. The lo-fi sound drew many critics and listeners to the band. In July 2007, SSLYBY performed at the Afisha Picnic music festival in Moscow, Russia, just three months after the death of Boris Yeltsin. The group returned to Springfield to record their highly anticipated follow up to Broom. Unable to record at Knauer's house because of noise complaints, the band moved their home recording studio to Knauer's aunt's house. Pershing was released on April 8, 2008 on Polyvinyl Records. The album spawned three music videos: "Think I Wanna Die" directed by Grammy-nominated director Israel Anthem and featuring members of the band Eisley, and "Modern Mystery" and "Glue Girls", both directed by Brook Linder. The band was named the "best new band in Missouri" by the Boston Phoenix despite the "cutesy, irritating quality of its six-word name". Pershing was named the best album of 2008 by the blogs It's Hard to Find A Friend, The Stark Online, and The Power Pop Show. Blender Magazine ranked "Dead Right" as one of the top 200 songs of 2008. In 2008 the band released a split EP with the Liverpool band Puzzle, licensed their song "Anne Elephant" to a MasterCard commercial, and made their network television performance debut on the Carson Daly Show. SSLYBY's third album under Polyvinyl, Let It Sway, was produced by Chris Walla of Death Cab for Cutie and Beau Sorenson. On October 22, 2010, NME.com debuted the music video for "Sink/Let It Sway" directed by Brook Linder. The band and Linder would pair up again in early 2011 to make a video for "Critical Drain", which premiered on MTV.com. In early 2011, the band supported Tokyo Police Club on a US tour. Later that year, they released Tape Club, a collection of b-sides and rarities. The band released a new album on September 17, 2013 entitled Fly by Wire. News of this album coincides with John Robert's departure from the band. As Phil would now be required to cover vocals full-time, Tom Hembree was brought back to the band to take over bassist duties, and Phil's sister Roni was added as a keyboardist. On March 5, 2015, it was announced via the band's official Twitter page that a new album would be released in the summer of 2015. A teaser trailer for the album was simultaneously released on YouTube. Later that month, on March 26, it was announced that the album would be called "The High Country" and that it would be released on June 2, 2015.
Members
Current
Philip Dickey - vocals, drums, guitar, songwriting
Will Knauer - lead guitar, songwriting
Jonathan James - bass, drums, backing vocals
Tom Hembree - bass
Former
John Robert Cardwell - vocals, guitar, bass, drums, songwriting
