Biography
Chicago's Disappears blend garage punk bite, shoegaze drift, and steady Krautrock propulsion. The lineup unites Brian Case, formerly of the Ponys and 90 Day Men, with Boas alumni Graeme Gibson and Jonathan van Herik plus Damon Carruesco. Case launched the project during downtime from his other bands by cutting demos alongside Gibson, who then recruited van Herik; van Herik in turn added Carruesco. Shortly after the group formed, they issued their own series of 7-inch singles whose artwork drew from Can's Delay 1968 and posted the tracks online at no charge.
While laying down their first proper studio album, Disappears joined the Touch & Go roster and performed at the label's 2009 South by Southwest showcase as well as on shared bills with Tortoise, Deerhunter, and Times New Viking. One hundred CD-R copies of the live set Live Over the Rainbo, captured during the Deerhunter and Times New Viking tour, were pressed and later reissued through Plus Tapes and Rococo Records that same year. Additional prominent local appearances followed, among them a slot at the Pitchfork Music Festival and a New Year's Eve 2009 concert alongside the Jesus Lizard.
By year's end the band had switched to Kranky Records, which issued their official debut Lux in 2010. They also cut a single featuring Sonic Youth's Steve Shelley and the duo White/Light. A leaner, more psychedelic direction surfaced on 2011's Guider. After Gibson departed, Shelley took over on drums, and the 2012 album Pre Language—tracked at Sonic Youth's Echo Canyon West and mixed by John Congleton—marked his first appearance on record with the group. Touring obligations eventually led Shelley to exit, at which point Noah Ledger, previously of Anatomy of Habit, joined on drums.
Early in 2013 Disappears self-released the Kone EP; the stripped-down style explored there carried over to their fourth album, Era, released that August. In 2014 they performed David Bowie's Low at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago during the Bowie Changes series, and echoes of that album's atmospheric edge surfaced on the subsequent full-length Irreal. Recorded with John Congleton at Steve Albini's Electrical Audio, Irreal appeared in January 2015. Later that year Low: Live in Chicago documented the Museum of Contemporary Art performance.
While laying down their first proper studio album, Disappears joined the Touch & Go roster and performed at the label's 2009 South by Southwest showcase as well as on shared bills with Tortoise, Deerhunter, and Times New Viking. One hundred CD-R copies of the live set Live Over the Rainbo, captured during the Deerhunter and Times New Viking tour, were pressed and later reissued through Plus Tapes and Rococo Records that same year. Additional prominent local appearances followed, among them a slot at the Pitchfork Music Festival and a New Year's Eve 2009 concert alongside the Jesus Lizard.
By year's end the band had switched to Kranky Records, which issued their official debut Lux in 2010. They also cut a single featuring Sonic Youth's Steve Shelley and the duo White/Light. A leaner, more psychedelic direction surfaced on 2011's Guider. After Gibson departed, Shelley took over on drums, and the 2012 album Pre Language—tracked at Sonic Youth's Echo Canyon West and mixed by John Congleton—marked his first appearance on record with the group. Touring obligations eventually led Shelley to exit, at which point Noah Ledger, previously of Anatomy of Habit, joined on drums.
Early in 2013 Disappears self-released the Kone EP; the stripped-down style explored there carried over to their fourth album, Era, released that August. In 2014 they performed David Bowie's Low at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago during the Bowie Changes series, and echoes of that album's atmospheric edge surfaced on the subsequent full-length Irreal. Recorded with John Congleton at Steve Albini's Electrical Audio, Irreal appeared in January 2015. Later that year Low: Live in Chicago documented the Museum of Contemporary Art performance.
Albums
Disappears + Steve Shelley + White/light
2020
Irreal
2015
Era
2013
Pre Language
2012
Guider
2011
Lux
2010
Live
