TR/ST

History

Alfons and Postepski crossed paths in late 2009, began crafting songs together, and officially became a band in January 2010. Their first release, a double A-side single featuring "Candy Walls" and "Bulbform," came out in 2011 through Sacred Bones Records. The buzz around "Candy Walls" caught the attention of Arts & Crafts, who signed them that same year. Their debut album, TRST, dropped on February 28, 2012, via Arts & Crafts.

At the Toronto release party, National Post critic Luis-Enrique Arrazola called their set outstanding, saying Trust lived up to the hype and delivered a relentless, sexually charged performance perfect for a late-night city finale. Pitchfork’s Larry Fitzmaurice gave the album a 7.4 out of 10, praising Alfons’ voice as slithering and grimy, which boosted the raunchy feel of tracks like "Shoom" and "Bulbform," and noting he sounded like a personality-heavy singer indie culture had been slow to embrace.

The album landed at number eight on Insound’s Top Albums of 2012 and number thirty-seven on Under the Radar’s Top 50 Albums of 2012. Shortly after the album’s release, Postepski departed to focus on Austra’s growing demands and her own solo project, Princess Century. Their second album, Joyland, came out on March 3, 2014, also on Arts & Crafts. It earned generally favorable reviews; MusicOMH gave it a 4 out of 5, saying it sharpened and streamlined Trust’s sound beyond the debut.

2014–2015: Joyland

Joyland debuted at number twelve on the Billboard Dance/Electronic Albums chart. Three singles supported it: "Rescue, Mister" with a video by Sabrina Ratté, "Capitol" with a video by Will Joines, and "Are We Arc?" with a video by Malcolm Pate. On March 13, 2015, Alfons put out the single "Slug" exclusively on YouTube. In 2016, Alfons mentioned that the third studio album was being finished late the previous month.

It was originally slated for a 2017 release but got delayed. Recording took place in a 150-year-old farmhouse north of Toronto and in Los Angeles.