Indie rock trio
the Rosebuds formed in May 2001, shortly after
Ivan Howard (vocals/guitars) and
Kelly Crisp (keyboards) met while in college in Wilmington, NC. They moved to Raleigh that fall and enlisted drummer
Billy Alphin (of
Ashley Stove). After a split 7", nearby Merge Records discovered their demo in early 2003 and later released Make Out, their debut full-length, in October. Following that recording,
Alphin left the group and was replaced by Jonathan Bass, who himself was replaced by
Lee Waters for the recording of the band's second album, 2005's
Birds Make Good Neighbors. By the release of their third album for Merge, 2007's
Night of the Furies,
the Rosebuds were down to the duo of
Howard and
Crisp. On the record they were joined by numerous friends, including
Matt McCaughan on drums and
the Shout Out Louds on backing vocals. The duo returned to the studio in 2008 and released
Life Like in October of that same year.~ Kenyon Hopkin, All Music Guide