Weird War

Emerging after the breakup of the Make-Up and Royal Trux, Weird War formed as a supergroup uniting Ian Svenonius and Michelle Mae from the former with Neil Hagerty from the latter. Jessica Espeleta and Steve McCarty completed the initial lineup for what began as a single project. Once they completed their self-titled 2002 debut along with a contribution to Colonel Jeffery Pumpernickel: A Concept Album, Hagerty turned to solo work as Neil Michael Hagerty, while Svenonius and Mae teamed with guitarist Alex Minoff, formerly of Six Finger Satellite, to launch the Scene Creamers. That trio issued I Suck on That Emotion in 2003, yet faced a legal dispute later the same year against a collective of French graffiti artists who shared the name. Mae, Svenonius, and Minoff thereafter revived the Weird War identity for further recordings, among them If You Can't Beat 'Em, Bite 'Em in 2004 and Illuminated by Light in 2005. Across every configuration, the endeavor sustained the Make-Up's focus on subversive yet danceable sounds, extending the approach through elements of Krautrock, psychedelic rock, and experimental jazz.