Serving as a spiritual continuation of the now-defunct Sprain, Shearling exhibits the reunion of a now decade-old collaborative force between guitarists Alexander Kent and Sylvie Simmons. A subsequent recruiting of percussionist Andrew Chanover, bassist Wesley Nelson, and keyboardist Elizabeth Carver filled out their orchestrally-minded roster. The band was mostly quiet for its first year of existence, avoiding live performances to instead focus on their brazen debut.