Started by MJ Parker and Charlie Gokey at the tender age of 15, Secret Cities grew out of a shared love of psychedelic pop and a pen-pal arrangement that saw the pair trading 4-track tapes through the mail. The band eventually expanded to a trio with the addition of fellow Midwesterner and kindred spirit Alex Abnos on drums. After a few small releases on Baltimore’s Fall Records, the band released its proper full length debut (the well-received Pink Graffiti) in 2010 on Western Vinyl. Following a nationwide tour in support of that release, the band spent several intense months writing and recording new material, re-imagining their sound as a fractured take on classic AM radio pop. Strange Hearts, the resulting album, was released in March 2011 on Western Vinyl.