Robert Earl Thomas is known as guitarist for hazy, sauntering indie rock group Widowspeak as well as for his own dusty trail-evoking solo material. He joined singer/songwriter Molly Hamilton and drummer Michael Stasiak in Widowspeak after they relocated from Tacoma, Washington to New York in 2010. That autumn, the trio used a laptop microphone and GarageBand to craft the six-song cassette The October Tape, which resulted in a record deal with Captured Tracks.

Featuring production by Woods' Jarvis Taveniere, Widowspeak's self-titled debut saw release in August of 2011. After touring in support of the album, Stasiak left the band, and Thomas and Hamilton worked with Kevin McMahon to highlight the folky and Fleetwood Mac-like elements of their sound for 2013's Almanac. Later that year, the Swamps EP was described as a bridge between their previous work and their upcoming material.

Shortly after those releases, Hamilton and Thomas relocated to New York's Hudson Valley region and reunited with Taveniere for 2015's All Yours. It featured Woods drummer Aaron Neveu and delved deeper into Almanac's velvety country and classic rock leanings. Hamilton wrote 2017's Expect the Best during a return to Tacoma, and the band contrasted her contemplative lyrics with a heavier sound thanks to the presence of touring bassist Willy Muse and drummer James Jano in the studio.

In the meantime, Thomas had begun writing and home-recording his own songs. He combined two years' worth of recordings with the product of a two-week studio session with McMahon in 2016 for his first solo album, Another Age. Relaxed and reflective with an expansive sound that showed traces of influences like Bruce Springsteen, Dire Straits, and Tom Petty, it arrived via Captured Tracks in early 2018. ~ Marcy Donelson & Heather Phares, Rovi