Limbeck

Hailing from Laguna Niguel, CA, the power pop melodies of Limbeck formed at the turn of the new millennium, anxious to deliver sweet pop hooks and a solid, energetic performance. Signed to Utility Records, Limbeck issued an early 2000 split EP titled Connection, sharing props with Cali pop-punkers Home Grown. Around the same time, the guys -- singer/guitarist Robb MacLean, guitarist/singer Patrick Carrie, bassist Justin Entsminger, and drummer Matt Stephens -- were also featured in an Apple iMac commercial, playing their song "Stop Internet Romance" as the fictional band the Garage Monkeys. A year later, the full-length This Chapter Is Called Titles was released. Limbeck signed on to the roster at Doghouse Records in late 2002, and when their label debut, Hi, Everything's Great, appeared in the first half of the next year, they were found to be evolving from emo into alternative country terrain. Limbeck continued to bring their organic sunny pop almost nonstop around the country over the following year, sharing dates along the way with acts like Rocky Votolato, the Early November, and Sleep Station. Their next offering, Let Me Come Home, was issued in August 2005, boasting a sound that tapped more fully into influences like Wilco, Old 97's, and the Replacements. Stephens left the band that same year and was replaced in September by Jon Phillip, a Milwaukee native who'd formerly drummed with the Benjamins and the Obsoletes. Ever on the road, more touring followed before Limbeck entered a Kansas studio in the summer of 2006 to work again with longtime producer and friend Ed Rose (the Get Up Kids). The quartet's resulting eponymous album surfaced in April 2007. ~ MacKenzie Wilson, All Music Guide