in late 2010 they added upright bassist joshua machiz, who first appeared on the band's 2012 full-length, "manufacturing joy". the group organized a tom waits tribute night in january 2013 at the venue jose pistola's. conner left the group in 2013 and guitarist josh olmstead joined later that same year. the "kong" ep, recorded in a single day with minimal rehearsal, was issued in march 2014. a music video was created for a song off the "kong" ep entitled "blood in the bathtub". following the release of the ep, the group toured the us, including a performance at sxsw. american diamond recordings, a label run by ron gallo, picked the "kong" ep up for digital distribution later that year.