Gone Glimmering

Chavez: Matt Sweeney (vocals, guitar); Clay Tarver (guitar); Scott Anthony Masciarelli (bass); James Lo (drums).
Engineers: Bob Weston, Bryce Goggin, John Agnello.
Recorded from between December 1994 and January 1995.
Chavez combined slacker indie rock (think Pavement) and fierce, idiosyncratic pop-punk (the Pixies) with a sharp attention to structure, changes, and dynamics that sometimes get them categorized as "math rock." Whatever their label, the band's debut, GONE GLIMMERING is a woolly ride full of squalling guitar attacks, angular riffs, and surprising turns. But the album is elevated from run-of-the-mill indie noise by its exceptional songs, which pack catchy, durable hooks into a brainy musical package, and top it off with Matthew Sweeney's lovely, vulnerable voice.