The Van Pelt

In their earliest phases, the Van Pelt existed on the periphery of the 1990s emo scene, sharing similarities with some bands of the time in their airy, chiming guitar lines and moody dynamics, but set very much apart by vocalist/guitarist Chris Leo's abstract lyrical perspectives and distinctive half-sung/half-spoken vocal delivery. They were first active between 1993 and 1997, producing two albums in that time and breaking up shortly after the release of their later-revered sophomore album, The Sultans of Sentiment. The bandmembers immediately went on to other projects, but the Van Pelt sporadically reunited from there. Over the years, the group played several reunion shows before returning solidly to form in 2017 and working toward 2023 album Artisans & Merchants, their first full-length collection of new material since the '90s. The Van Pelt formed in New York City in 1993. With former Native Nod singer/guitarist Chris Leo at the helm, the group's original membership included Brian Maryanski on guitar, Sean Greene on bass, and Neil O'Brian on drums. The first full-length release of the band, Stealing from Our Favorite Thieves, was released on Gern Blandsten in 1996 and achieved a modicum of college radio success. The album reached number 39 on the Gavin college radio charts and was followed by a series of regional and national touring that drew even more attention to the band in the college underground. Sean Green left the group and was replaced by Blonde Redhead's Toko Yasuda. With the new lineup, the Van Pelt released their sophomore effort, The Sultans of Sentiment, in 1997, again on Gern Blandsten. The album focused more on textural elements and the building of the kind of melodic fragments that were present on their debut. Yasuda's influence also drew the band into more minimal song structures. The Van Pelt disbanded in 1997, shortly after some brief touring that followed the release of The Sultans of Sentiment. While Maryanski and O'Brian would play with a variety of musical projects on the East Coast, Leo and Yasuda went on to form the Lapse later that year, a band that to some extent continued the style the Van Pelt had established. The group would reunite on occasion as the years passed, coming together for two shows in 2009 and to play the All Tomorrow's Parties festival in London in 2014. That year, they also released Imaginary Third, an eight-song album of material recorded in 1997 and 1998 both by the Van Pelt and the Lapse. In 2017, a full 20 years since they originally broke up, the group reunited with their original membership of Leo, O'Brian, Greene, and Maryanski. In 2023, the Van Pelt released their proper third full-length, Artisans & Merchants. The album's nine songs would be the band's first new music in over 25 years.
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