Carissa's Wierd formed in 1995 when
Matt Brooke and
Jenn Ghetto moved to Seattle from Arizona. Their hushed, plaintive vocals, blended with intricate instrumentation, impressed from the start. The pair recruited pianist
Jeff Hellis and a string of drummers and violinists to round out their sparse indie rock sound. Other members included
Ben Bridwell,
Sarah Standard, and Sera Cahoun. Embracing a misspelling and never subscribing to convention, the bandmembers blazed their own trail early on, cutting their teeth in Seattle's club scene.
In 1999, the group unleashed Ugly But Honest on
Bridwell's Brown Records, while 2001's
You Should Be at Home Here and 2002's
Songs About Leaving garnered the band widespread acclaim across the Pacific Northwest. Recording with
Chris Walla at Seattle's Hall of Justice Studio, the group increasingly seemed to be a legend in the making, but disbanded in late 2003 soon after a cross-country tour. Following the demise,
Ghetto focused on her solo project, simply called
S.
Brooke and
Bridwell announced plans to form a band called November 16th; while such an outfit never materialized, the duo
did find success with the indie rock act
Band of Horses.
Brooke split from the group in 2006 and went on to form
Grand Archives, who subsequently became labelmates with
Band of Horses when they signed to Sub Pop. Meanwhile, Sad Robots Records issued several posthumous releases of
Carissa's Wierd material, including 2004's
I Before E. ~ Stephen Cramer, All Music Guide