The British post-punk band Ist Ist formed in Greater Manchester, England, in 2014. Featuring vocalist/guitarist Adam Houghton, guitarist/keyboardist Mat Peters, bassist Andy Keating, and drummer Joel Kay, Ist Ist spent a number of years playing shows at regional venues like the O2 Ritz, earning a local buzz—as well as comparisons to post-punk icons like Joy Division—in the process. A debut EP, B, appeared in 2016 and marked the beginning of a string of limited-edition releases, with the concert recording Live following in 2017. An additional concert album, Live at St Philip's Church, was released in 2018, along with the EPs Spinning Rooms and Prologue. Following another handful of EP releases and live recordings in 2019, Ist Ist made its full-length debut with 2020's Architecture, featuring collaborations with the Grammy-winning mastering engineer Greg Calbi. The album climbed to Number 3 on the UK Independent Albums Chart, although plans to tour behind its release were scrapped due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Written and recorded during the various lockdowns that followed, a second album, The Art of Lying, was released in 2021. Produced by Michael Whalley, The Art of Lying peaked at Number 87 on the Official Albums Chart in the UK, marking a new mainstream peak for the band. They continued to mine their darkly propulsive post-punk sound on follow-up LPs Protagonists (2023) and Light a Bigger Fire (2024).