Led by singer-songwriter Kyle Morton since its founding in 2005, the band is anchored by bassist Toby Tanabe, guitarist Dave Hall, drummer Alex Fitch, and violinist/vocalist Shannon Steele and has been noted for its large size, boasting up to fourteen members in its past.

[2] Typhoon was formed in Portland in 2005 by high-school friends Kyle Morton, Toby Tanabe and Dave Hall who had relocated from Salem, Oregon.

The band's name, originally a working title, references a dinner conversation Kyle, Toby and Dave shared in Japan as teenagers.

That year, Typhoon was voted number two on Willamette Week's annual list of the top ten best new bands in Portland.

[6] On August 4, 2011, Typhoon made their television debut on Late Show with David Letterman, performing "The Honest Truth;"[7] the track was ranked #3 in Paste magazine's list of the 50 best songs of 2011.

[8] During this period, Typhoon opened for The Thermals, Quasi, Yann Tiersen, Explosions in the Sky, The Decemberists, Belle and Sebastian, and The Shins, and toured with Lady Lamb the Beekeeper.

"[19] On January 22, 2021, Typhoon released Sympathetic Magic without prior announcement, a full-length album completed during the COVID-19 pandemic, along with lead single "Empire Builder."

The songs are about people- the space between them and the ordinary, miraculous things that happen there, as we come into contact, imitate each other, leave our marks, lose touch.

Typhoon's early recordings reveal a greater degree of experimentation with various styles, including a number of "sea shanties", country western and Eastern European-inspired songs.

Many of the songs are preoccupied with mortality and directly reference lead singer and primary songwriter Kyle Morton's own struggle with Lyme disease as a child.