Biography
Formed in the middle of 1997, the Essex Green drew from the psychedelic era of the 1960s while weaving in gentle folk-rock and occasional classic-country touches. The group emerged from the late-’90s Elephant 6 circle and, for several years, overlapped with the Ladybug Transistor; like that ensemble, the Essex Green specialized in understated, densely textured chamber pop. After issuing a Kindercore album, they moved to Merge for two releases spanning the early and middle 2000s. Following an extended hiatus, the members reconvened without friction and delivered Hardly Electronic on the same label in 2018.
The project began when four former members of Burlington, Vermont indie-pop outfit Guppyboy—singer/guitarist Chris Ziter, singer/keyboardist Sasha Bell, guitarist Jeff Baron, and bassist Mike Barrett—relocated to Brooklyn to explore psychedelia and cosmic sounds. Drummer Tim Barnes completed the roster. Early gigs in New York clubs led to an East Coast tour alongside Aden and Saturnine. Their initial recording was a split single issued in early 1999 with the Sixth Great Lake, an alt-country side project. Later that year the band put out a self-titled EP on Elephant 6 and a debut full-length on Kindercore; around the same time Bell and Baron also joined the Ladybug Transistor.
Commitments to the latter group, together with Bell’s solo work as the Finishing School (whose Destination Girl appeared in 2003), temporarily sidelined Essex Green activity. Once Bell departed the Ladybug Transistor and Baron stepped back to occasional contributor status, the remaining trio—after Barrett’s departure—signed with Merge and began a second album. Scaling back the wide-ranging psych-pop of earlier work in favor of a calmer folk-rock palette, they released The Long Goodbye in 2004. Following worldwide touring, the musicians convened at producer Britt Myers’s Manhattan studio to track a third album. Cannibal Sea, which eliminated any lingering country-rock elements, surfaced on Merge in early 2006. A full year of road work followed before Ziter relocated to Cincinnati, Bell to San Francisco, and Baron to Pittsburgh.
Scattered across separate cities and absorbed by personal obligations, the three did not resume collaborative music-making for nearly a decade. Bell had ceased performing altogether until she settled in Montana and, aided by local record-store staff, launched the Sasha Bell Band. Meanwhile Ziter and Baron had both returned to Burlington, prompting the trio to consider reuniting. They played initial shows in 2016 and soon began developing new material. Song ideas traveled between cities before Bell traveled to Vermont for recording sessions. After roughly two years of work, the resulting album, Hardly Electronic—a richly arranged set of chamber pop—was issued by Merge in mid-2018.
The project began when four former members of Burlington, Vermont indie-pop outfit Guppyboy—singer/guitarist Chris Ziter, singer/keyboardist Sasha Bell, guitarist Jeff Baron, and bassist Mike Barrett—relocated to Brooklyn to explore psychedelia and cosmic sounds. Drummer Tim Barnes completed the roster. Early gigs in New York clubs led to an East Coast tour alongside Aden and Saturnine. Their initial recording was a split single issued in early 1999 with the Sixth Great Lake, an alt-country side project. Later that year the band put out a self-titled EP on Elephant 6 and a debut full-length on Kindercore; around the same time Bell and Baron also joined the Ladybug Transistor.
Commitments to the latter group, together with Bell’s solo work as the Finishing School (whose Destination Girl appeared in 2003), temporarily sidelined Essex Green activity. Once Bell departed the Ladybug Transistor and Baron stepped back to occasional contributor status, the remaining trio—after Barrett’s departure—signed with Merge and began a second album. Scaling back the wide-ranging psych-pop of earlier work in favor of a calmer folk-rock palette, they released The Long Goodbye in 2004. Following worldwide touring, the musicians convened at producer Britt Myers’s Manhattan studio to track a third album. Cannibal Sea, which eliminated any lingering country-rock elements, surfaced on Merge in early 2006. A full year of road work followed before Ziter relocated to Cincinnati, Bell to San Francisco, and Baron to Pittsburgh.
Scattered across separate cities and absorbed by personal obligations, the three did not resume collaborative music-making for nearly a decade. Bell had ceased performing altogether until she settled in Montana and, aided by local record-store staff, launched the Sasha Bell Band. Meanwhile Ziter and Baron had both returned to Burlington, prompting the trio to consider reuniting. They played initial shows in 2016 and soon began developing new material. Song ideas traveled between cities before Bell traveled to Vermont for recording sessions. After roughly two years of work, the resulting album, Hardly Electronic—a richly arranged set of chamber pop—was issued by Merge in mid-2018.
Albums
Hardly Electronic
2018
Cannibal Sea
2006
The Long Goodbye
2003
The Essex Green
2000
Everything Is Green
1999
Singles
