Artist bio

When they first started strangling their guitars in the early ‘90s, the Archers of Loaf were a direct if slightly more dissonant descendent of the prominent indie rock bands of the time, especially Pavement and their Chapel Hill, NC neighbors Superchunk. Their 1993 debut full-length Icky Mettle and the early singles collected on the 1996 compilation The Speed of Cattle reveal better-than-average songwriting skills and melodies that manage to overcome the peculiarities of Eric Bachmann’s hoarse singing and Bachmann and Eric Johnson’s demented guitar stylings, most prominently the mixtape hit “Web in Front.” The 1994 EP Archers of Loaf vs. The Greatest of All Time cut out some of the amateurism of the debut and added a whole lot of lovely guitar abuse, including the classic “Audiowhore.”

None of the early releases quite prepares listeners for the smorgasbord of sounds on the Archers’ sophomore outing, 1995’s Vee Vee. Produced by Bob Weston, the record was a vast sonic improvement from the debut and cannily employed samples and vocal effects. Mostly, though, Vee Vee just brought the goods with great songs, particularly the college radio hit “Harnessed in Slums.” Over Matt Price’s thundering toms and bassist Matt Gentling’s deranged backing screams, Bachmann makes like an indie rock Moses, speaking out for the “thugs and scum and punks and freaks” whom the band is proud to call their fans.

Then, oddly, they went for the brass ring. 1996’s All the Nations Airports, though nominally released by the Archers’ longtime label Alias, was their first to be major-distributed and was accompanied by big-budget videos and an actual promotional campaign. The album itself was a logical progression from Vee Vee, mellower and containing a few Bachmann piano ballads and even a country-western instrumental. Still, tunes like “Strangled by the Stereo Wire” and “Vocal Shrapnel” bought the choking feedback fans expected. Modern rock radio unsurprisingly did not respond to the subtle pleasures of “Scenic Pastures,” and the Archers’ major label era was over after one album. One benefit of the experiment was the limited release of the Vitus Tinnitus EP, which included thundering live versions of some of the band’s greatest compositions to that point.

White Trash Heroes, released in 1998, was a breakup record and sounds like it. Bringing over some of the ideas he’d picked up with his quasi-orchestral side project Barry Black, Bachmann layers budget keyboards over most of the songs, with the remainder being hellish screaming. The Archers had come about as far from “Web in Front” as could be imagined. Nonetheless, the album works quite well, particularly the spooky “Dead Red Eyes” and the final track which gives the album its name. Eric Johnson didn’t make many of the dates for the tour to support White Trash Heroes, and by tour’s end it was common knowledge that it was the end of the line for the Archers of Loaf. Bachmann moved on to do something completely different with his new band Crooked Fingers while Gentling toured as an extra guitarist for Superchunk. The live document Seconds Before the Accident was their last release.

Albums by this artist

White Trash Heroes (1998)

The Speed Of Cattle (1996)

All the Nations Airports (1996)

Vee Vee (1995)

Icky Mettle (1993)

Archers of Loaf

Icky Mettle

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» MARK T.R. DONOHUE | STAFF WRITER

Archers of Loaf Icky Mettle Alias, 1993 RiYL: Pavement, Jawbox, Sebadoh

If you want to define the term "indie rock" to a total cultural outsider, there aren't many better places to start than the lead track from Icky Mettle, "Web In Front." All the hallmarks are there -- cardboard production, inscrutable lyrics, and a dogged catchiness that trumps all of the weird angles.

Most of the Archers Of Loaf's debut album uses this formula to solid effect. It's not as wide-ranging as the Archers' catalog afterwards, and it lacks the shock of the new that the Archers' early-'90s predecessors had going for them, but it rocks a lot harder than some of the band's obvious influences. There's also even at this early juncture a bizarre telekinesis between the guitars of Eric Bachmann and Eric Johnson that compares favorably to Barbot/Robbins, McMahan/Pajo, or even Ranaldo/Moore.

Past the durable "Web In Front," you have the fast-moving "Wrong," the bass-driven "You And Me," and the lyrically impenetrable "Toast." The Archers hadn't yet figured out how to incorporate slower tempos into their sound (and they wouldn't until All The Nations Airports) but at 38 minutes the album doesn't outstay its welcome. There's not a lot of differentiation among the 13 tracks, although "Might" hints at the more '70s-influenced Vee Vee and the weird modal acoustic guitars of "Hate Paste" sound like nothing else the Archers ever did. While some other bands (Pavement springs immediately to mind) never much benefited from more studio dollars, Icky Mettle really suffers from its audibly thrifty budget. Johnson's and Bachmann's guitars never get the separation they deserve and Matt Gentling's bass is regularly inaudible.

One thing that remained consistent through the whole of the Archers' lifespan is Bachmann's lyrics, which concern themselves predominantly with the eccentricities of the people who like his music and disdain for the people who don't. "Why you gonna try it if you know you don't like it?" he asks on "Hate Paste." "No, I do not think that you would like me anyway, because you are superior in all aspects to me," sarcastically goes the bridge to "Wrong." "She's an indie rocker, and nothing's gonna stop her," Bachmann sings on "Plumb Line." "Everybody's buying it, 'cause everybody's blind," reports "Slow Worm."

These preoccupations would grow into maturity on Vs. The Greatest Of All Time and Vee Vee. But on Icky Mettle, to an extent, the consistent lyrical themes add to the overall similitude of the songs. The album's songs all sound better out of context. Had it not been for the iTunes shuffle function, I might never have realized the quality of later tracks like "Learo, You're A Hole" or "Slow Worm."

Looking back now, Icky Mettle's flaws are forgivable, because the enormous potential suggested on this record completely came to fruition. The next three Archers Of Loaf records are all terrific and all for very different reasons. Here, you can hear the roots of everything that was to come on, and it's a fun little indie rock record on its own merits. Just don't try and take it in all at once.

MARK T.R. DONOHUE | Mark T.R. Donohue is a prolific freelance writer whose areas of expertise include Rockies baseball, video games, genre television, English soccer, and pub rock. He lives in Colorado, where he cultivates the largest and creepiest private collection of Alyson Hannigan memorabilia in the Mountain West.