The group formed in San Diego in 1997, and included Christopher Sprague, Luis Hermosillo, Jimmy LaValle (The Album Leaf), James Lehner, and Stephen Swesey.

This line-up recorded all material that was released through 2003, including the albums Spine and Sensory (1999) and Dream Signals in Full Circles (2000).

Their second album Dream Signals in Full Circles was recorded and produced in Chicago by Dave Trumfio at Kingsize Soundlabs during the spring of 2000.

During 2004, the band enlisted guitarist Alison Ables and keyboardist Sean Ogilvie to begin writing songs for A Colores.

At the start of 2007, the core of Tristeza (Sprague, Lehner, and Hermosillo) with the assistance of Ogilvie, began collaborating with various musicians around the San Francisco Bay Area, including Camaron Stevens on guitar, and released the Fate Unfolds mini album in 2009.