Squirrel Bait

Adored by critics and a little cult pursuing, the seminal Squirrel Bait stay consistently underrated with regards to their impact on post-hardcore punk and alt-rock. A huge part of this is because of their however scant documented legacy: two albums, both under around 30 minutes, both just sporadically obtainable. Their presence certainly wasn’t helped by having less a bustling picture in their indigenous Louisville, KY, at that time (though they helped kick begin one), nor from the high-school-age people’ youngsters, which managed to get challenging to tour also to make the changeover to university. Furious and melodic, Squirrel Bait’s music was frequently in comparison to Hüsker Dü as well as the thrashier part from the Substitutes, but that just began to catch the substance of their high-tension dynamics and angst-riddled mania. Their sensibility was frequently appropriate for the growing Dischord stable, however indebted to rock aswell, and their musical chops foreshadowed the extreme prog-punk that could become one wing from the emo motion. The majority of Squirrel Bait’s users remained active music artists following the band’s dissolution, playing in rings that ranged from grunge and indie rock and roll to experimental mathematics rock and roll and post-rock. Squirrel Bait had been shaped in Louisville circa 1983 by vocalist Peter Searcy, guitarists David Grubbs and Brian McMahan, bassist Ethan Buckler, and drummer Britt Walford. Buckler still left in early stages and was changed by Clark Johnson, and Walford’s place would afterwards be studied by Ben Daughtrey. In 1985, the group released a self-titled debut EP for the Homestead label, which received extremely complimentary reviews regardless of its fairly poor distribution. A somewhat much longer follow-up, Skag Heaven, made an appearance in 1987, documenting the band’s musical development and greater range. However, by that point, the music group — all teens when they began — was developing up, and with both Grubbs and Johnson having departed for university, Squirrel Bait disbanded. The set of rings whose employees included former people of Squirrel Bait can be a challenging one. Peter Searcy documented many albums as head from the alt-metal group Big Steering wheel. Ben Daughtrey performed briefly using the Lemonheads before developing a lounge-revival music group called Appreciate Jones. Brian McMahan reunited with unique Squirrel Bait tempo section Ethan Buckler and Britt Walford in the similarly important Slint; Buckler and Walford afterwards shifted to Ruler Kong, while McMahan shaped the For Carnation and moonlighted with Will Oldham’s Palace task. David Grubbs was the most prolific, nevertheless: after Squirrel Bait’s dissolution, he performed in two complicated rings, Bitch Magnet and Bastro, the last mentioned which also included Walford for a short while. In the first ’90s, Grubbs relocated further into avant-garde rock and roll with Gastr del Sol, a task with multi-instrumentalist and maker extraordinaire Jim O’Rourke. Grubbs also briefly became a member of O’Rourke in Brise-Glace, and used a reorganized edition of Mayo Thompson’s Crimson Krayola. When Gastr del Sol disbanded in the middle-’90s, Grubbs released several increasingly experimental single recordings, generally spotlighting his extra, improvisational guitar function.