Discography

Discography

Track Listings

1. New Jello

2. Sifelaver

3. Waht's the Matter River?

4. Coughfin'

5. Shoot Hypotenuse

6. Bluestone

7. Petty Fix

8. Spacrly

9. Right Right Left

10. Cowboy Syndrome

11. itt

12. Anacin

13. Last Name

14. Balance

15. One Gallon Alda

16. Chuck

Editorial Reviews
About the Artist
It's a rare and curious situation when an artistic force of magnitude on the scale of Maximillian Colby appears and then abruptly dissipates. Initially not greatly known outside their native state of Virginia, the quartet of Drew Ringo, Dave NeSmith, Tom Richards, and Bob Baynor never truly knew the scope of their influence on a mid-'90s subgenre of hardcore music punctuated not only by fractured walls of sheer noise but also filigreed instrumentation. Maximillian Colby certainly provide one of the definitive snapshots of this style of music and have a quality reminiscent of, say, Gravity Records' back catalog, but they manage to overstep mere layers of screams and feedback into a realm more droning and haunting.

Beginning in Harrisonburg, Va., at James Madison University in the early'90s, the four men produced intricate compositions on one hand clean, repetitive, and mellow, but on the other, brash and jagged. Perhaps that's the allure of Maximillian Colby: there's always a sonically unstable element to them. Control and temperance are always jockeying for position with splatter and chaos; howls mix with picked chords to emerge as music of a singular quality.

The foursome flung out a raw, unharnessed energy to produce sketches of sprawling beauty and rumbling roars. For Maximillian Colby, a premium was placed on mood, not necessarily crystallized thought. A quick glance at the lyrics sheet might reveal words that appear as greeking, or random text used to see how a CD layout would look. But the sense one gets when listening to the unified channels of Maximillian Colby's lyrics and music is that narration of specific instances didn't matter to them. In other words, it's all about conception and impression.

It was their terrifyingly earnest approach towards composition that resonates in their first 7" on DC's Nervous Wreck Kids, two compilations on Whirled Records, and their near legendary split 12" with Canada's Shotmaker. Sadly, the band came to a complete halt following the sudden death of bassist Baynor in 1995. While Richards didn't continue onto other musical projects, Ringo and NeSmith followed their stint in Maximillian Colby with Sleepytime Trio, Supine to Sit, Rah Bras, Bats & Mice, and a host of other bands. Maximillian Colby finds glimpses and refractions of itself as the progenitor in this long list of projects.

Product Description
Simply put, the Maximillian Colby retrospective discography is a document of not only a (sadly) relatively obscure band, but also a snapshot of a mid-'90s sound still aped by fall-on- the-floor-wailing revivalists today.

Maximillian Colby fashioned seminal works on their own terms. Neither purely aggressive nor depressingly somber, Maximillian Colby's music creates soundscapes that can rupture the eardrums and soon after lull the mind. As a band, they melded crisp whispers with clamor drenched in feedback to dizzying, cathartic effect.

With songs that run such a gamut of genres, Maximillian Colby never let their music lapse lazily into incoherence. Rather, the sounds they created are a lesson in methodical precision and totality. For example, how many other bands can succeed in writing an engaging, eight-minute song whose two primary tones are within a half-step of each other? Maximillian Colby were all too happy to wring the utmost out of something as deceptively innocuous as a pair of notes, exploring their many inherently possible rhythms, dynamics, and effects.

This all-encompassing exploration of the different, nuanced qualities of each song reflects Maximillian Colby's playful, deft approach to their art. Songs will build and build, only to have the climax moments or even half a song later. What seems like relentless adolescent pummeling is in fact incredibly intentional and calculated. This charismatic musical approach ensures that Maximillian Colby's music remains as captivating, animated, and vital as it was a decade ago.

Discography,Maximillian Colby,Lovitt,Pop,Rock,Rock/Pop

Rock Music

Discography

Rock Music: