Hoover - Biography
By the early 1990s Washington, DC was known across the country as a city that virtually radiated unique underground music. The city’s hardcore scene of the ‘80s was one of the country’s most vibrant and many of the scene’s prime movers led the way in breaking new stylistic ground in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s. This post-hardcore strain of indie rock has no more hallowed ground than Ian MacKaye’s Dischord label. Home to many of DC’s most innovative bands it's no surprise that Hoover would find a home on the label. Few bands of the time can claim to have been as intense and distinctive as the short-lived quartet. While Hoover only produced one full-length record during its existence The Lurid Traversal of Route 7 is a peerless classic in the world of post-hardcore.
Hoover was formed in the summer of 1992 by Alex Dunham, Fred Erskine, Joseph McRedmond and Christopher Farrall. By the early ‘90s DC had become a place to move for young musicians and several of Hoover’s members had left other bands in places like Arizona and Pennsylvania to settle in DC. Guitarist McRedmond and drummer Farrall were playing with future Karate frontman Geoff Farina in 1991 in a band called Victor Deluxe. Farina moved to Boston after a few shows and Erskine stepped in on bass. Dunham had recently moved from Arizona and joined soon after. The quartet named itself Hoover and began playing shows.
While DC’s influence was strong on the band (the members cite early Fugazi, Soul Side and Ignition as hugely important) it was obvious that Hoover was moving in a different direction. Taking cues from hardcore, the band slowed things down slightly and added ominous, angular riffs, complex stop/start time changes, elliptical song structures and intensely dramatic volume dynamics. The results are an utterly unique interpretation of post-hardcore art-rock that remains peerless to this day. After Ian MacKaye saw Hoover perform he ushered the band into the studio to record its first single, ‘92’s Side Car Freddie / Cable.
1993 brought more shows, touring and a split single with like-minded Lincoln called Two Headed Coin. These two early releases, plus furious live shows, labled Hoover as one of DC’s most intriguing bands. The group headed into WGNS studios with producer Geoff Turner to record its first and only proper full-length. The Lurid Traversal of Route 7 was released on Dischord in 1994. The band’s sound is in full form here, exploring a surging art-rock defined by angular guitars, slithering bass, polyrhythmic drumming, dark ambience, and pained, urgent vocals. Tracks like “Father” and “Cuts Like Drugs” blend Slint-style dynamics with hardcore’s tight aggression while “Regulator Watts” and “Shut” mine a subtly darker tension. Everyone but Farrall sings, and the vocals are delivered with passion and fury, at times making for a harrowing listen. Erskine and Farrall are a powerful rhythm section, blending ferocity and jazz-like complexity unheard in other post-hardcore bands. Many mark The Lurid Traversal of Route 7 as one of the best post-hardcore albums ever made. Its influence can be heard in a widespread variety of ‘90s indie rock, from Mogwai to Modest Mouse.
Sadly Hoover split before 1994 was over. All four members went on to play in other excellent bands including June of ’44, Abilene, Regulator Watts, Sea Tiger, and The Crownhate Ruin. In 1998 Hoover reunited to record a self-titled EP of songs that were written before the band originally split. In 2004 the group again reunited for the first of several tours.
