Hum

Endless feedback, a heavenly drone, and an obsession with science and outer space: these three elements perhaps most define the beautiful style that has become the trademark of the unmatchable Hum. Despite a career marked with slight commercial successes, most obviously their 1996 radio hit {"&Stars,"} Hum has never quite been given the full attention and emphasis that they deserve.



Forming in 1989 in the now notorious musical region of metro Illinois, more specifically in Champaign-Urbana, the band released their first album, Fillet Show, on the 12 Inch label created by a friend's band The Poster Children. This album displays a markedly different style from the feeling they would later create, probably due to the lineup change that would soon follow. Poster Children members Jeff Dimpsey and Tim Lash took up bass and guitar responsibilities respectively, and Hum, in their true form, released their last independent album, Electra 2000, on the band's own label Martians Go Home. Electra 2000's somewhat rough production perfectly captured the spacey, other-worldish sound of the band, but their greatest work was yet to come. The band supported the album by touring with such pronounced indie acts as Shellac, The Jesus Lizard, and more well-known ones such as The Smashing Pumpkins and Liz Phair.

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