New Bad Things

What began as a one-off from like-minded coffee shop dwellers in Portland, OR, swelled into one of the Rose City's longest-lasting contributions to the indie rock world. David French, Luke Hollywood, Christine Denkwelter, Matthew Hattie Hein, and Mattiey Gaunt formed in 1992 to do a one-time opening gig for Sebadoh. They soon recorded a full-length record, Freewheel!, for local indie label Candy Ass Records and became a unique collective of songwriters gelling their disparate tastes into one lo-fi sometimes noisy post-punk sound. Society followed on Lissy's U.K. in 1994, and the band began to drift to a more slop pop sound. NBD released Ennui Go in 1997 and bade farewell to singer Hein, who left to pursue a solo career. An alternative-takes record, C-sides, was released in 1999. French later departed to play in Wallpaper. ~ Ron DePasquale