Archers of Loaf

Archers of Loaf were an american indie-rock band. Never as acclaimed as Pavement, or as prolific as Guided by Voices, they nevertheless carved their own niche in the genre with their unique and quirky sound.

They were formed in Chapel Hill, North Carolina in the early 1990s by guitarists Eric Bachman and Eric Johnson, bassist Mat Gentling, and drummer Mark Price. Following their first single, Wrong, they signed to Alias records. Their second single, Web in Front, was a big success, and remains one of their key tunes. They followed up in late 1993 with the album Icky Mettle, feted by many as the indie-rock record of the year, a collage of spiky guitar riffs and white noise, tuneful mumbling and angry shouting, angst and nonsense humour.

1995's Vee Vee followed a similar template, still skipping between noise and harmony, seriousness and absurdity, but sounded more well-rounded and better produced. 1996 saw them release The Speed of Cattle, which despite being a collection of B-sides, singles, and John Peel session tracks, sounds remarkably consistent and coherent, "Like the band had a secret plot to release the record one single at a time"[1].

Their third studio album, All the Nation's Airports, was no great departure, but again saw them hone their trademark style. And then after a gap of two years, they released their final LP, White Trash Heroes. Standing apart from their other releases, sounding much more melancholic and mature, with an increased use of keyboards and even drum machines, it was an interesting record to end their career with. The band amicably split in late 1998, with singer and songwriter Eric Bachmann moving on to multiple solo projects, including Barry Black and Crooked Fingers.