Biography
The Transit War emerged from San Diego as a four-piece whose melodic post-hardcore approach sidesteps the self-absorbed tone typical of emo while rejecting the technical display prized by post-rock devotees. Positioned somewhat more intense and less hook-driven than the Weakerthans or Modest Mouse, the quartet nonetheless occupies a comparable corner of today’s indie-rock spectrum, emphasizing restrained yet detailed melodies alongside crisp, at times restless grooves. An initial version of the band assembled in 2001, yet the first consistent roster crystallized around the 2002 self-titled D.I.Y. demo EP, anchored by lead singer and guitarist Jim Hughes and bassist Mike Frey, with lead guitarist Anthony Levas and drummer Bernie Tiano completing the lineup. When sessions began in 2004 with producer Joe Marlett—previously linked to blink-182, Queens of the Stone Age, Relient K, and Fenix TX—Levas and Tiano had already given way to guitarist Jaime Solis and drummer Brad Bohensky. That configuration issued the debut album ¡Ah Discordia! on the independent Harbor Records label in early 2005. Heavy rotation of the video for standout track “Kerosene” on MTV’s collegiate outlet MTVu lifted the band’s profile, leading to a contract with Orange Peal, which reissued ¡Ah Discordia! at the start of 2006. Their follow-up full-length, Miss Your Face, appeared in fall 2006, introduced by the single “Sheep In Your Head.”
Albums