Formed in Oakland, California, the warped art-rock trio Experimental Dental School first took shape in early 2002 when Shoko Horikawa (organ and sampler) and Jesse Hall (guitar and vocals) recruited ex-Tim in Action drummer Ryan Chittick. Before Chittick’s arrival, Horikawa and Hall had already worked together in the eccentric outfit Meyow. Once the new lineup locked in, their erratic sound earned them bills alongside Deerhoof, Numbers, Hella, Mates of State, the Need, Dub Narcotic Sound System, the Make-Up, and Trans Am, prompting steady touring across the United States, Europe, and repeated West Coast runs. In 2003 the group issued its debut full-length, Hideous Dance Attack!!!, which Memory Lab Records distributed in Japan and an unnamed German imprint pressed on vinyl. Hall’s fervent singing and unorthodox guitar work, Chittick’s jagged drumming, and Horikawa’s unpredictable organ lines quickly drew widespread admiration. April 2004 brought a split-CD EP pairing two Experimental Dental School tracks with those of Kyoto’s Limited Express; Memory Lab Recordings handled the Japanese edition while Sweden’s Deleted Art Records soon issued the vinyl version. The 2005 album 2½ Creatures featured drumming contributions from Deerhoof’s Greg Saunier and was reissued with bonus tracks the next year. Saunier later assisted in mixing the band’s 2008 follow-up, Jane Doe Loves Me.
