Equally inspired by its members' long-standing friendship and their love for the analog warmth of classic rock, Muzz is the trio of Interpol's Paul Banks, former Walkmen drummer Matt Barrick, and producer Josh Kaufman. On 2020's Muzz, the band gave their reverence for these vintage sounds a 21st century perspective.

Muzz's roots are deep and interconnected. Banks and Kaufman attended high school in Spain together, then separately moved to New York City in time for its booming rock scene in the late '90s and early 2000s. Banks went on to fame with Interpol, while Kaufman became an accomplished producer, multi-instrumentalist, and member of the folk group Bonny Light Horseman. During this time, they both crossed paths with Barrick, who established himself as one of city's finest drummers with Jonathan Fire*Eater and the Walkmen.

Eventually, the friends worked on each other's projects. Kaufman contributed to Banks' early solo outings as Julian Plenti, which eventually yielded the 2009 album Julian Plenti Is Skyscraper; Barrick drummed on 2016's Anything But Words, the debut album from Banks' collaboration with RZA, Banks Steelz. Barrick also played on several of Kaufman's production sessions, and the two of them contributed to The World at Night, the 2020 solo album by Barrick's fellow Walkmen alumni Walter Martin.

Around 2015, the trio began working on what would become Muzz. Taking their name for Kaufman's term for the warmth and texture of vintage albums, Barrick, Kaufman, and Banks crafted songs informed by their shared love of Bob Dylan, the Rolling Stones, Leonard Cohen, and Neil Young as their schedules allowed. Recorded at locations including Banks and Barrick's Silent Partner studio in Philadelphia and Woodstock, New York's Isokon studio with co-producer Dan Goodwin, Muzz arrived in June 2020. ~ Heather Phares, Rovi