The Academic
08 Dec 2018

The band garnered media interest with the release of their single "Bear Claws" in July 2017, an anthemic track similar in style to the music of The Strokes. The track received further attention after the premiere of their "live looper" music video for the track. The video, which was performed live on a Facebook video stream, utilized the delay in the stream to create a musical loop, to which they gradually added vocals and instruments. On 26 October 2017, the band released a new single "Permanent Vacation" and announced that their debut LP, Tales from the Backseat, would be released on 12 January 2018. At midnight on 17 November 2017, Tales from the Backseat was made available for pre-order. Anyone who pre-ordered would instantly receive a new single, "Why Can't We Be Friends?", which Clash called "a crisp, ultra-catchy indie pop jammer."

On 12 January 2018, Tales from the Backseat was released to critical acclaim, and was the number-one album in Ireland for the week of 19 January 2018.