Sophie's Floorboard: Squirrel Bait

Squirrel Bait were a punk/post-hardcore band from Louisville, Kentucky that were around from 1982 to 1987. They began as a three-piece, with founding member David Grubbs as their guitarist and vocalist. With this line-up they recorded their first demo, when they were all still in high school and going by the name Squirrelbait Youth. Following that, they changed their name and drummer. They added Peter Searcy as the primary vocalist, which is when their sound really began to evolve from the scrappy punk of the band's earliest work. Following the inclusion of Brian McMahon as a second guitarist, they put out their most ground-breaking material, which was their self-titled EP and only full-length, Skag Heaven. Both were reissued in 1997, which is why sometimes the release year is listed as such on those two albums. There's a great write-up on the history of the band here if you're interested in learning more.

Their sonic trajectory can be loosely compared to bands such as The Replacements or Hüsker Dü, who took their energetic punk origins and blended it with catchy songwriting and big, melodic, distorted and reverberated guitars. Squirrel Bait's influence was immediately felt, especially in the emerging grunge and emo scenes at the time. One listen through of their EP will reveal just how foundational they are, as it predates the sounds that would define a decade years before that decade even began. It's no surprise that the likes of Bob Mould and Dave Grohl have been known to sing their praises. Members of this band went on to a ton of other amazing projects. Most notably, guitarist Brian McMahon and drummer Britt Walford formed Slint, another genre-defying and hugely influential project. Walford was also a member of The Breeders, and played on Pod. David Grubbs went on to play in Bastro and Bitch Magnet. Enjoy.