Silkworm

Originally formed by Joel R.L. Phelps, the first Silkworm made no secret of their love for the noisy, guitar-driven temperaments of bands such as Uncle Tupelo and the Replacements. Marked by glassy guitar angularities, stop-on-a-dime bashing, and Phelps' aggressive howling, they made an impressive, tearfully honest racket. Then, before their Matador Records debut, Phelps left the band to go solo. Silkworm's new, stripped down incarnation hit the ground running with 1996's Firewater, unleashing an impressive batch of newly-focused songs that challenged pop conventions not unlike those other Seattle-based favorites Built To Spill. Ensuing albums like Libertine and the slow burning, even more successful Developer enjoyed religious-like fanaticism from notable critics, as well as heavy rotation in the CD players of many Indie purists. The band continues to tour, sometimes showboating as the Crust Brothers -- a collaboration featuring Pavement's Steve Malkmus in addition to Silkworm's standard line up.