Essex Green was formed in mid-1997 after four members of the Burlington, Vermont-based indie pop band Guppyboy relocated to Brooklyn, New York to start a project that incorporated psychedelia and cosmic music into its sound Singer/guitarist Chris Ziter, singer/keyboardist Sasha Bell, guitarist Jeff Baron, and bassist Mike Barrett were joined by drummer Tim Barnes, and the group appeared at various New York City clubs before touring the East Coast with Aden and Saturnine. Their first release was an early-1999 split single on Sudden Shame Records with its alt-country alter ego, the Sixth Great Lake. Also in 1999, they were asked by Robert Schneider to be a part of the Elephant Six Collective and recorded a self-titled EP for the label, and then shortly afterwards their debut full-length for Kindercore, 'Everything Is Green'. Bell and Baron also joined the like-minded Brooklyn group The Ladybug Transistor, but their time spent with that band meant less time for Essex Green activities, as did Bell's work on her solo project the Finishing School, whose debut album, 'Destination Girl', came out in 2003. By this time Bell had left The Ladybug Transistor and Baron had downgraded to contributor, which meant more time for the Essex Green.
The band, now a trio following Barrett and Barnes' exit, signed to Merge Records and began work on their second album, toning down the eclectic psych-pop of their debut recordings in favor of a more relaxed folk-rock approach. 'The Long Goodbye' was released in 2003, and after some time spent touring the world, the band members headed to the Manhattan studio of producer Britt Myers, where they began sessions for their third album. 'Cannibal Sea' cut out any remaining traces of country-rock from their approach, and was released by Merge in early 2006. The band spent a solid year touring behind the record, then hit a snag when Ziter moved to Cincinnati, after which Bell moved to San Francisco and Baron to Pittsburgh. With the three members in different cities and their real lives getting in the way, it took nearly a decade before they worked on music together again. Bell had even stopped playing music entirely for a few years until she moved to Montana and, with the help of some friendly record-store clerks, started playing shows as the Sasha Bell Band. Meanwhile, Ziter and Baron had both moved back to Burlington, and the trio decided the time was right to reunite. They played some shows in 2016 and began seriously working on another album, with the three members trading song ideas across the country. Bell then went to Vermont for some sessions, and a couple of years' work led to their third album, 'Hardly Electronic', a richly arranged slice of chamber pop that was issued by Merge in mid-2018. Nothing more has been heard of them since then, but they've left behind a catalogue of excellent baroque-pop songs, and this album collects some of the best of them for your consideration.
Track listing
01 Sloane Ranger (from 'Hardly Electronic' 2018)
02 Don't Know Why (You Stay) (from 'Cannibal Sea' 2006)
03 The Late Great Cassiopia (from 'The Long Goodbye' 2003)
04 The Pride (from 'Cannibal Sea' 2006)
05 Janaury Says (from 'Hardly Electronic' 2018)
06 Penny & Jack (from 'Cannibal Sea' 2006)
07 Southern States (from 'The Long Goodbye' 2003)
08 Rabbit (from 'Cannibal Sea' 2006)
09 Our Lady In Havana (from 'The Long Goodbye' 2003)
10 Mrs. Bean (from 'Everything Is Green' 1999)
11 Catatonic (from 'Hardly Electronic' 2018)
12 Primrose (from 'Everything Is Green' 1999)
13 Fabulous Day (from 'The Essex Green' EP 1999)
14 Waikiki (from 'Hardly Electronic' 2018)
15 Rue De Lis (from 'Cannibal Sea' 2006)
