Sophie's Floorboard: Circus Lupus

Circus Lupus were a four-piece post-hardcore band from Washington, DC that were active from 1990 to 1993. They first formed in Madison, Wisconsin where Chris Thomson was attending school. He had previously been the bassist of both Soulside and Ignition, two DC-based Revolution Summer essentials. In Circus Lupus he took on vocal duties instead, rounding out the line-up with guitarist Chris Hamley, drummer Arika Caselbolt, and bassist Reg Shrader. Following the release of their first 7", the band re-located to Thomson's hometown of DC, with Seth Lorinczi taking over bass.

After reconvening in DC, they released their debut full-length in 1992 on none other than Dischord Records, which was followed by a Joan Jett-produced single later that year and another full-length the following year. In typical Dischord fashion, the band dissolved after that, with its members moving on to other projects including Monorchid, Antimony, and Las Mordidas. Despite their short tenure, Circus Lupus have proven to be an influential yet underappreciated entry in the Dischord roster. Their off-kilter rhythms, stream-of-consciousness vocals, and discordant, noisy guitar work all proved to be huge in the foundation of the emerging post-hardcore scene. Highly recommended, enjoy.