Our Waking Hour

Our Waking Hour started when Jason Manns, Sean Murtagh, and David Amezcua met at Berklee College of Music and formed the band in 2004. They put out a debut EP called 'Behind Closed Doors' in 2006 and spent those early years touring a lot, though they also dealt with some lineup changes and money troubles. Songs like 'Curtain Call' and 'Break Me Down' came from this period, showing their lean toward moody, atmospheric rock.

In 2009, they worked with producer Rick Rubin on their second album, 'Light from a Dead Star.' That record got them more attention, with its big melodies and inward-looking lyrics fitting into the alt-rock sound of the time. It didn't make them critics' darlings across the board, some reviews called the band derivative or questioned how genuine the emotion was, but it found an audience. Tracks such as 'Too Late For Sorry' and 'Good Night Misery' have stuck around in their setlists.

After that, they kept recording, with another album titled 'Illusion & Do' following at some point. The details get thin from there, but the music from those years holds a certain earnest, late-2000s alternative feel, built on those early connections at Berklee and the push-and-pull between touring grind and studio refinement.