A self-described "bossa nova dream pop" quartet from Northern California, Trails and Ways bandmembers Emma Oppen (bass, vocals), Keith Brower Brown (vocals, rhythm guitar, keyboards), Ian Quirk (drums), and Hannah Van Loon (lead guitar, keyboards) met while studying at UC Berkeley. Invoking names like Beach Fossils, Of Monsters and Men, and Passion Pit, and inspired by Spanish flamenco, Música Popular Brasileira, and sunny Cali indie pop, they issued a debut EP in 2012 called Trilingual (the group sings in English, Spanish, and Portuguese), which featured the regional hit "Mtn Tune." Trails and Ways eventually inked a deal with Seattle indie Barsuk, which put out the quartet's first studio long-player, Pathology, in June 2015. ~ James Christopher Monger