In January of 2010, high school juniors Carter Martin (vocals, guitar, keyboard) and Bryan Mooney (lead guitar) formed the indie/acoustic rock band Blackbird Sunset. The group was created as an act for their high school talent show, and that spring Blackbird Sunset released their self-titled EP online. The three songs were recorded at Hit & Run Studios in Gaithersburg, Maryland with locally famed engineer Steve Carr. The EP included two songs ('For You' and 'Lost') written before the creation of the band as well as a third song titled 'Fraying Hands'. The latter was featured on Esente's "DC Rocks CD" and various online jukeboxes, bringing both 'Fraying Hands' and Blackbird Sunset much attention. The following year, Martin and Mooney filled the band out, adding drummer Ben James (drums, djembe) and promptly began recording their first album "Casual Obsessions". The CD was recorded at Grubby Thicket Studios (Bethesda, MD) with engineer and classmate Sahil Ansari. The album includes revised versions of tracks from the original EP, as well as newly written hits. Blackbird Sunset's tunes are beautifully composed with Martin's soulful but sharp melodies, Mooney's intimate lyrics, and the enthusiastically strong rhythms of James on drums.