Climate

Dallas-based lo-fi indie rock outfit Climate takes an eclectic and experimental stance, drawing its chief inspiration from arty post-punk and avant-garde rock while folding in stray strands of pop, jazz, electronic music, and plain rock and roll that happen to surface. Friends Nathan Beach and Grant Kuneman launched the project in 1997 and added further players on an as-needed basis. Their first release came via Special Friends Records in 1998, the opening move in a burst of activity that produced the EPs Deaf Friends Club and All-Star Christmas plus the full-length Live for Success! within the same calendar year. The pace eased in 1999, yielding only Bred Mice, before Observations on Friends and Friendships arrived in 2000. After that record the group moved to Hot Link Records and assembled a core backing lineup of Bill Driegert on drums, Matt Lacomette on bass, and Darren Frayne on keyboards and trumpet; Swallow All Letters served as their debut album for the label in late 2000.