Cerberus Shoal was a

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

rock band formed in 1994 in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

but largely based in

Portland, Maine Portland is the largest city in the U.S. state of Maine and the seat of Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 in April 2020. The Greater Portland metropolitan area is home to over half a million people, the 104th-largest metropol ...

. They split up in the mid-2000s with some members going on to form

Big Blood Big Blood is an American band formed in South Portland, Maine in 2006. The band's music fuses psychedelic folk, experimental rock, and an eclectic array of other styles and influences. Big Blood originated as a husband-and-wife duo of Colleen K ...

and

Fire on Fire "Fire on Fire" is a song by English singer Sam Smith, produced by Steve Mac. It was co-written by Smith and Mac for the 2018 Netflix adaptation of the 1972 novel ''Watership Down''. "Fire on Fire" was released as a single on 21 December 2018 thr ...

History

The band's initial line-up was Caleb Mulkerin (guitar), Josh Ogden (guitar), Chriss Sutherland (bass guitar, vocals), and Tom Rogers (drums).Strong, Martin C. (2003) ''The Great Indie Discography'', Canongate, , p. 667-8DaRonco, Mike " Cerberus Shoal Biography,

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

, retrieved 2010-06-26 They took their name from an old book of poems that students at

Brown University Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...

had written in 1893.Hudak, Jay (1998) interview, Nothing Left issue No. 8, p. 47 This name indirectly references an underwater feature in the

Block Island Sound Block Island Sound is a strait in the open Atlantic Ocean, approximately wide, separating Block Island from the coast of mainland Rhode Island. On the west, it extends to Montauk Point on the eastern tip of Long Island, as well as Plum Isl ...

. After their first, self-titled release in 1995, Kristen Hedges replaced Ogden on guitar and vocals, and David Mulder was added on keyboards and percussion. The new line-up released two ''Lighthouse in Athens'' EPs in 1996 and the album ''...and Farewell to Hightide'' in 1997, now having abandoned their earlier punk/psychedelic rock style for a more progressive rock sound that was described as "soundtrack-rock", and "quite simple rrangements featuring subtle percussion, occasional horns, and layers of guitars and keyboards".Mason, Stewart " ...and Farewell to Hightide'' Review'',

, retrieved 2010-06-26 Hedges left in late 1997, and Mulder left the following year. Thomas Kovacevic then joined on guitar, quena, oud, zamponas and vocals, Eric Laperna on percussion and vocals and Tim Harbeson on keyboards, accordion, flute, shakuhachi and trumpet, all three concurrently of the band Tarpigh. Their 1998 album ''Elements of Structure/Permanence'' comprised two long tracks originally intended as soundtracks to short films by Tim Folland, and improvised and recorded while watching the films.Raggett, Ned " ''Elements of Structure/Permanence'' Review,

, retrieved 2010-06-26 ''Homb'' was released in 1999, showing another stylistic shift towards more atmospheric music, drawing comparisons with early

Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experimentation, philo ...

Popol Vuh ''Popol Vuh'' (also ''Popol Wuj'' or ''Popul Vuh'' or ''Pop Vuj'') is a text recounting the mythology and history of the Kʼicheʼ people, one of the Maya peoples, who inhabit Guatemala and the Mexican states of Chiapas, Campeche, Yucatan and Q ...

, and

Godspeed You! Black Emperor Godspeed You! Black Emperor (sometimes abbreviated to GY!BE or Godspeed) is a Canadian post-rock band which originated in Montreal, Quebec in 1994. The group releases recordings through Constellation, an independent record label also located i ...

.Raggett, Ned " ''Homb'' Review,

, retrieved 2010-06-26 This continued through ''Crash My Moon Yacht'' in 2000 (on which they introduced East European instrumentation),Fink, Matt " ''Crash My Moon Yacht'' Review,

, retrieved 2010-06-26 and ''Mr. Boy Dog'' in 2002. Their 2003 album ''Chaiming the Knoblessone'' incorporated influences from around the world and has been described as "a slithering, buzzing cacophony of avant-garde folk insanity",Spano, Charles " ''Chaiming the Knoblessone'' Review,

, retrieved 2010-06-26 and as "a surreal head trip".Dahlen, Chris (2003)
Cerberus Shoal ''Chaiming the Knobblessone''
,

Pitchfork Media ''Pitchfork'' (formerly ''Pitchfork Media'') is an American online music publication (currently owned by Condé Nast) that was launched in 1995 by writer Ryan Schreiber as an independent music blog. Schreiber started Pitchfork while working ...

October 27, 2003, retrieved 2010-06-26 The band's latest album is 2005's ''The Land We All Believe In'', described by one reviewer as "a magnanimous, comic investigation into realities both political and otherwise",Murphy, Matthew (2005)
Cerberus Shoal ''The Land We All Believe In''
,

, October 12, 2005, retrieved 2010-06-26 and as sounding "like a wagonload of circus performers being trampled by an endless stream of rhinos, with horns, accordions and banjos squeaking at random and Eastern European blood running thick on the ground" by another.Buchan, Philip (2005)
Cerberus Shoal ''The Land We All Believe In''
", ''Splendid'', October 10, 2005, retrieved 2010-06-26 The band split up in the mid-2000s with Sutherland and other members resurfacing as acoustic group Fire on Fire, Sutherland also performing solo.Ponti, Aimsel L. (2010)

, ''

Portland Press Herald The ''Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram'' is a morning daily newspaper with a website that serves southern Maine and is focused on the greater metropolitan area around Portland, Maine, in the United States. Founded in 1862, its roots e ...

'', June 3, 2010, retrieved 2010-06-26

Discography

Albums

*''Cerberus Shoal'' (mini-LP) (1995), Stella White *''...and Farewell to Hightide'' (1997), Tree *''Elements of Structure/Permanence'' (1998), A.I.P. *''Homb'' (1999), Temporary Residence *''Crash My Moon Yacht'' (2000), Pandemonium *''Mr. Boy Dog'' (2002), Temporary Residence *''Chaiming the Knoblessone'' (2003), North East Indie *''Bastion of Itchy Preeves'' (2004), North East Indie *''Cerberus Shoal'' (2004), North East Indie *''The Land We All Believe In'' (2005), North East Indie *''An Ongoing DING'' (2010), iscollagecollective

Singles, EPs

*''Lighthouse in Athens Part One'' EP (1996), Tree *''Lighthouse in Athens Part Two'' EP (1996), Tree *"Breathing Machine" (1997) *"Garden Fly, Drip Eye" (2001), North East Indie *'' Travels in Constants vol. 10'' EP (2001), Temporary Residence

Split releases

*''The Whys and the Hows of Herman Düne & Cerberus Shoal'' (2002), North East Indie - split with

Herman Düne Herman Dune is a Swedish-French act based in San Pedro, Los Angeles. The band has been described as Indie rock, Anti-folk, Folk rock, Alternative rock, Americana, and Alternative country. History Herman Dune was established as a trio with broth ...

*''The Ducks and Drakes of...'' (2003), North Eastern Digital - split with Guapo *''The Vim and Vigour of Alvarius B and Cerberus Shoal'' (2003), North East Indie - split with Alvarius B *''The Life and Times Of...'' (2004), North Eastern Digital - split with Magic Carpathians

References

{{Authority control Musical groups from Boston Musical groups established in 1994 Musical groups disestablished in the 2000s American experimental rock groups Musical groups from Portland, Maine Musical groups from Maine Rock music groups from Maine 1994 establishments in Massachusetts Temporary Residence Limited artists