Native Nod was a New York-based hardcore band inspired by Washington's
Rites of Spring.
Their repertory was collected posthumous on
Today Puberty Tomorrow The World (Gern Blandsten).
Van Pelt was formed by Native Nod's guitarist Chris Leo, who enlisted
Brian Maryanski on guitar, Sean Green on bass and Neil O'Brian on drums.
The angular pop of
Stealing From Our Favorite Thieves (Gern Blandsten, 1996)
recalls later, poppier Sonic Youth
(It's A Suffering, You Are The Glue).
Sultans Of Sentiments (Gern Blandsten, 1997) is a more abstract work
that reduces the melodic impact and increases the textural experiments
(Don't Make Me Walk My Own Log, Nanzen Kill a Cat,
The Good The Bad and The Blind).
The single Speeding Train (Art Monk, 1998) marks a return to
Native Nod's melodic hardcore and may be their most accessible song.
After the band broke up,
Chris Leo, bassist Toko Yasuda and drummer Dave Leto started Lapse.
Pretentious lyrics marred or highlight (depending on taste) their debut album,
Betrayal (Gern Blandsten, 1998). The music follows the lyrics, and
that also can be a mixed blessing.
Heaven Ain't Happenin' (Southern, 2000) is more musical than literate
and the compositions spread their wings.
Buffet, Basilico Basilica, Dragonflies and
Into The Psychomanteum showcase a mixture of new wave, no wave,
minimalism and post-rock.