Baltimore-based singer/songwriter
Cass McCombs' moody but often surprisingly humorous music is aided and abetted by bassist
Trevor Shimizu, keyboardist
Natalie Conn, and drummer
Dutch E. Germ (who has also played with
Neil Michael Hagerty). Tours with
the Oxes and
Palace paved the way for
McCombs' debut EP, 2002's
Not the Way, which arrived on Monitor Records; A was released early the following year and was distributed in Europe and the U.K. by 4AD.
McCombs and his band spent much of 2003 and 2004 touring, playing the All Tomorrow's Parties festival and supporting labelmates
Blonde Redhead. Early in 2005, the
Sacred Heart single revealed the more polished and poppy (though still dark) direction of his second album,
PREfection, which arrived that spring.
McCombs toured with
Modest Mouse after the album's release. Later that year,
McCombs moved to Los Angeles and began work on his next album. Recorded in studios and at home,
Dropping the Writ was released in October 2007, followed by
Catacombs in 2009. ~ Heather Phares, All Music Guide