Windsor For The Derby

Originally based in Tampa, Florida, the atmospheric post-rock outfit Windsor for the Derby formed around guitarists Dan Matz and Jason McNeeley plus drummer Greg Anderson. The trio soon relocated to Austin, Texas, and secured a deal with the regionally based Trance Syndicate imprint. Their first album, Calm Hades Float, appeared in 1996 under the production and engineering of Adam Witzie, who joined the band as a permanent member once the sessions concluded. Following the early-1997 EP Metropolitan Then Poland, the group issued the full-length Minnie Greunzfeldt before the year ended. Difference and Repetition arrived in 1999. Three years afterward, Emperor Jones released the B-sides compilation Earnest Powers. By then the lineup had contracted to Matz and McNeeley alone. Emotional Rescue, issued on Aesthetics in 2002, incorporated spacy folk textures, while 2004’s We Fight Til Death introduced halting vocals alongside an expanded instrumental range. After completing the latter record, both McNeeley and Matz settled in Philadelphia; the move from their prior practice of convening only once or twice annually enabled deeper home-studio exploration and more regular live performances. Drummer Charlie Hall, along with keyboardist and bassist Anna Neighbor, joined the group during this period. The resulting changes surfaced on Giving Up the Ghost, released by Secretly Canadian in August 2005. Although Neighbor received credit with Matz and McNeeley, Gianmarco Cilli of National Eye performed the drum parts. How We Lost surfaced in early 2008, and the twelve-track Against Love followed in 2010.