From their start as a full band, Speedy Ortiz found a warm reception in the Bay State’s rock underground, from Boston’s basements to Western Massachusetts’ experimental scene. In March 2012, the band recorded and self-released a two-song single (“Taylor Swift” / “Swim Fan”) with Paul Q. Kolderie (Pixies, Hole) and Justin Pizzoferrato (Chelsea Light Moving, Dinosaur Jr.). Establishing both creative momentum and a fanbase earned through near-constant U.S. touring, they continued with the Sports EP, a loosely conceptual 10” released on Exploding In Sound that June.

Their debut album Major Arcana, named Best New Music by Pitchfork, saw the evolution of Speedy Ortiz from a lo-fi project into a wholly collaborative effort, marked by Darl Ferm’s thick bass lines, drummer Mike Falcone’s boisterous fills, and the counterbalance between guitarist Matt Robidoux’s anti-melodic playing and frontwoman Sadie Dupuis’s angular riffing. The end result is a band able to distill their influences and impulses into something at once dissonant and melodic.

For their upcoming Real Hair EP, Speedy Ortiz has teamed up with Paul Q. Kolderie once again, resulting in a collection brushed with effected guitars and pop-conscious vocals. Here Dupuis attempts to untangle concerns about misrepresentation of identity in four songs delivered with the band’s signature abrasive clarity. The band will support the EP on the road into 2014 with a January southeastern string of All-Ages shows with Boston friends Grass is Green, their first European tour in February, and supporting slots with the Breeders and Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks.