Bitch Magnet

Bitch Magnet belonged to the broader network of groups connected to Squirrel Bait. After leaving that band, guitarist David Grubbs entered two new projects; in contrast to his role as a founding member and leader of Bastro, he joined Bitch Magnet after its formation and never assumed leadership. Bassist and vocalist Sooyoung Park directed the group. The band delivered an intense, cerebral strain of post-hardcore punk that invited comparisons to Steve Albini’s Big Black, and it was frequently linked to the more immediate Squirrel Bait offshoot Slint, though Bitch Magnet proved more driving and somewhat less intricate.

Sooyoung Park started Bitch Magnet in 1986 during his time as a student at Oberlin College in Ohio. He formed the lineup with guitarist Jon Fine and drummer Orestes Delatorre, who also performed as Orestes Morfin. Although the members’ paths crossed at Oberlin, the trio operated out of Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The band secured a deal with the independent label Communion and released its first recording, the 1988 12-inch EP Star Booty, which Steve Albini produced; the effort attracted attention within the underground rock community. For the 1989 full-length album Umber the group recruited a second guitarist, David Galt, and a later compact-disc edition combined that album with Star Booty. Later in 1989 David Grubbs replaced Galt and toured with Bitch Magnet around his existing schedule with Bastro. Grubbs performed on the 1990 EP Valmead as well as on the band’s concluding album, Ben Hur. Bitch Magnet disbanded late that same year. In the aftermath, Park launched the well-regarded band Seam, Grubbs rejoined Bastro as it developed into the influential Gastr del Sol, Fine played with both Vineland and Don Caballero, and Orestes Morfin appeared in Walt Mink. Temporary Residence remastered and reissued the group’s complete recordings in 2011, prompting Park, Fine, and Morfin to perform live shows across Europe and Asia, followed by additional concerts in North America during 2012.