For Against is an American
post-punk
Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of punk music that emerged in the late 1970s as musicians departed from punk's traditional elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a variety of avant-garde sensibilities and non-roc ...
/
dream pop
Dream pop (also typeset as dreampop) is a subgenre of alternative rock and neo-psychedelia that emphasizes atmosphere and sonic texture as much as pop melody. Common characteristics include breathy vocals, dense productions, and effects such as ...
band from
Lincoln, Nebraska
Lincoln is the capital city of the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Lancaster County. The city covers with a population of 292,657 in 2021. It is the second-most populous city in Nebraska and the 73rd-largest in the United Sta ...
, United States. Despite numerous lineup shuffles and some periods of dormancy, the band has produced material steadily since 1984.
History
Something of an anomaly in Midwestern America, For Against—especially early in its career—has looked to a distinctly British aesthetic for inspiration, most obviously the post-punk scene exemplified by the early rosters of the
Factory
A factory, manufacturing plant or a production plant is an industrial facility, often a complex consisting of several buildings filled with machinery, where workers manufacture items or operate machines which process each item into another. T ...
and
4AD record labels.
Featuring members of underground Lincoln bands Cartoon Pupils and Hymn to Joy, the band first called itself Glue, and then D.B.L., finally settling on Four Against One,
a name that reflected its status as a quintet at the time. Bassist Liz Panarelli's early departure gave way to keyboardist Jeffrey Runnings' shift to bass, as well as the band's truncation of its name to For Against. By 1985, singer Jon Fynbu had departed as well, leaving the core trio of guitarist Harry Dingman III, drummer Gregory Hill and bassist Jeffrey Runnings. The latter would become (with very few exceptions) the band's sole vocalist and lyricist.
In 1985, For Against debuted on vinyl with the "Autocrat"/"It's a Lie" single, released in a limited run on the band's own Republic Issue label. This single has become highly collectible among the group's fanbase. Additional early material was later released as the ''In the Marshes'' 10" EP (recorded 1985, released 1990) and ''Black Soap'' EP (recorded 1984, released 2011).
In 1987, the band signed to
Independent Project Records, issuing its first full-length album, ''Echelons''. That year the band undertook its only full tour to date, promoting ''Echelons'' at clubs across the U.S. including
CBGB
CBGB was a New York City music club opened in 1973 by Hilly Kristal in Manhattan's East Village. The club was previously a biker bar and before that was a dive bar. The letters ''CBGB'' were for '' Country'', '' BlueGrass'', and '' Blues'', Kri ...
,
Maxwell's
Maxwell's, last known as Maxwell's Tavern, was a bar/restaurant and music club in Hoboken, New Jersey. Over several decades the venue attracted a wide variety of acts looking for a change from the New York City concert spaces across the river. Max ...
and Chicago's
Cabaret Metro
Metro (formerly the Stages Music Hall and Cabaret Metro) is a concert hall in Chicago, Illinois, United States, that plays host to a variety of local, regional and national emerging bands and musicians. The Metro was first opened in 1982. The ...
. ''Echelons'' received a
Grammy
The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...
nomination for its jacket design by IPR head Bruce Licher; each LP in the initial pressing of 1000 came with an actual shaft of wheat integrated into the cover illustration. Promotional videos were made for two of the album's songs, "Autocrat" and the title track; both were included as bonus material in the reissue of their second album, ''December''.
Having received favorable press for the melodic post-punk of ''Echelons'', For Against released follow-up ''December'' the next year, to equally rave reception. The band lost considerable momentum, however, when Hill left, followed shortly thereafter by Dingman after a brief attempt at a retooled, four-piece lineup. Hill and Dingman would soon form
the Millions
''The Millions'' is an online literary magazine created by C. Max Magee in 2003. It contains articles about literary topics and book reviews.
''The Millions'' has several regular contributors as well as frequent guest appearances by literary not ...
, a melodic alt-rock outfit with more mainstream leanings than For Against.
Runnings, who had by this time switched from bass to guitar, continued on with bassist Jeff Gaskins and drummer Steve Schultz, playing under the name Stahlversion for a time before returning to the For Against handle. The band next added second guitarist Stephen "Mave" Hinrichs to the lineup; Hinrichs' band the Gladstones (formerly Playground), a steady name on the Lincoln scene, had just broken up. By the end of 1990, Schultz had been replaced with former Holiday drummer Paul Engelhard. This lineup of For Against released two singles in 1991 and 1993; all five songs from those singles found their way onto the band's 1993 album ''Aperture''. This album also featured six unheard tracks from 1990-91 recording sessions, characterized by a more relaxed, repetitive songwriting style than on earlier For Against records, making full use of the layering capabilities of the new two-guitar lineup.
By the time of ''Apertures release (delayed due to IPR's distribution woes), Gaskins had left the group; the album credits thank him for his bass playing but do not list him as a band member. Runnings returned to bass, and For Against has remained a trio ever since.
For Against recorded two more albums, ''Mason's California Lunchroom'' (1995) and ''Shelf Life'' (1997), before reemerging on a new label in 2002 with the album ''Coalesced''. Hinrichs soon left the band and moved to Virginia, leaving the group's existence in doubt.
In 2004, original guitarist Dingman rejoined Runnings and Engelhard. In 2006, Words on Music reissued ''Echelons'' and ''December'' on CD, followed by ''In the Marshes'' in 2007.
In March 2007, the band traveled to Europe for the first time, and played two shows in
Athens
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
,
Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...
. In August 2007, Engelhard was replaced by Nick Buller, who became the new permanent drummer. They traveled to Europe again, playing Spain in 2007 and touring Italy in March 2008. Two new albums were issued by Words on Music, ''Shade Side Sunny Side'' in 2008 (which Engelhard played on) and ''Never Been'' in 2009 (with Buller on drums).
In 2013,
Captured Tracks
Captured Tracks is an American independent record label based in Brooklyn, New York. The label was founded in 2008 by Mike Sniper.
About
Current flagship artists include: Craft Spells, DIIV and Wild Nothing.
Captured Tracks has reissued record ...
released a For Against box set containing ''Echelons'', ''December'' and ''In the Marshes''.
Discography
Albums
*''
Echelons'' (1987,
Independent Project; reissued 2004, Words on Music)
*''December'' (1988, Independent Project; reissued 2005, Words on Music)
*''Aperture'' (1993, Rainbow Quartz/Independent Project)
*''Mason's California Lunchroom'' (1995, Rainbow Quartz/
Caroline
Caroline may refer to:
People
* Caroline (given name), a feminine given name
* J. C. Caroline (born 1933), American college and National Football League player
* Jordan Caroline (born 1996), American (men's) basketball player
Places Antarctica
* ...
)
*''Shelf Life'' (1997, Independent Project/World Domination)
*''Coalesced'' (2002, Words on Music)
*''Shade Side Sunny Side'' (2008, Words on Music)
*''Never Been'' (2009, Words on Music)
Singles and EPs
*"Autocrat" 7" (1985, Republic Issue)
*''In the Marshes'' 10" EP (1990, Independent Project)
*"You Only Live Twice" 7" (1991, Part Trance)
*"Don't Do Me Any Favors" 7" (1993, IPR)
*''Black Soap'' (2011, Words on Music)
Compilations
*''Echelons , December , In the Marshes'' box set (2013,
Captured Tracks
Captured Tracks is an American independent record label based in Brooklyn, New York. The label was founded in 2008 by Mike Sniper.
About
Current flagship artists include: Craft Spells, DIIV and Wild Nothing.
Captured Tracks has reissued record ...
)
Music videos
*"Autocrat" (1987)
*"Echelons" (1987)
References
External links
*
AllMusic Guide entry
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 ...
br>
Review of ''December''at ''
Crawdaddy!
''Crawdaddy'' was an American rock music magazine launched in 1966. It was created by Paul Williams, a Swarthmore College student at the time, in response to the increasing sophistication and cultural influence of popular music. The magazine ...
''
Trouser Press entry
{{Authority control
Musical groups from Nebraska
American post-punk music groups
Alternative rock groups from Nebraska
Dream pop musical groups
Musical groups established in 1984
Captured Tracks artists