Michigan native Stef Chura writes wistful, visceral songs inspired by her life experiences. Equally influenced by '90s alternative/indie rock and '60s-'70s folk-rock, she has a distinctive fingerpicked guitar style and an unmistakable twangy voice. She made her solo recording debut with the critically well-received Messes in 2017.

After moving from upstate Michigan to Ypsilanti in 2009, Chura began performing solo and releasing demo tapes, quickly becoming a fixture of the local music scene. She put together a band with Amber Fellows and Shelley Salant (both later of Rebel Kind) in 2010, and they released a tape in 2011. Chura moved to Detroit in 2012, played bass in a few local bands, and released more of her own material on cassette. After meeting drummer Ryan Clancy (Jamaican Queens, Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr.) in 2014, the two began playing together. They recorded Chura's debut studio album, Messes, in 2015 with engineer Fred Thomas, who also played on the album. Three songs from the album were released on a split EP with Anna Burch (Frontier Ruckus, Failed Flowers), which appeared on Palm Tapes in 2016. Detroit label Urinal Cake Records released Messes in early 2017.

In the meantime, Chura had already started work on the follow-up with Car Seat Headrest's Will Toledo. First, he produced and played on Chura's 2018 Record Store Day release "Degrees/Sour Honey," consisting of two songs cut from Messes. With Clancy back on drums, Toledo also produced and contributed performances to the full-length Midnight, issued by Saddle Creek in mid-2019. ~ Paul Simpson, Rovi