In the closing months of 1997, We Ragazzi entered the dense indie-rock landscape of Chicago, enlivening it through their bold fusion of blues-tinged garage rock and impudent new wave. The lineup featured Anthony Rolando on guitar and vocals, Colleen Burke on Farfisa, and Alianna Kalaba on drums. After assembling, the group issued its own single in spring 1998 and began performing throughout Chicago and the adjacent Great Lakes region. An expanding reputation for vigorous live shows traveled by word of mouth, which in turn prompted a contract with the Chicago independent label My Pal God; that imprint placed the song "In December" on its compilation The My Pal God Holiday Record. The band's debut album, Suicide Sound System, appeared in spring 1999. Toward the end of that summer the musicians launched tours across the Midwest and the eastern seaboard. The next several years brought extensive songwriting and stage activity, yet scant time in the studio. Only in spring 2002 did they finally book studio time to complete Ache.
