For Against - Echelons (Reissue, Remastered) (2004)

Nebraska's lone dream pop entry, For Against initially consisted of bassist and vocalist Jeffrey Runnings, guitarist Harry Dingman, and drummer Greg Hill. Dingman and Hill left after 1988's December to form the Millions, and they were eventually replaced by Steven "Mave" Hinrichs and Paul Engelhard after another lineup failed to work out. (Dingman returned in the 2000s.) Since its inception, Runnings' band consistently produced a drifting yet distinctly rhythmic sound, soldiering through the myriad trends of the '80, '90s, and 2000s. With one foot in the British post-punk of Joy Division and the other in the gliding atmospherics of Kitchens of Distinction, For Against were treasured by shamefully few, due to geography, infrequent touring, and releases on small labels that relied more on word of mouth than on advertising. During the 2000s, the band's early releases for Bruce Licher's Independent Project label, through 1990's In the Marshes, were reissued on CD by Words on Music. In 2013, Captured Tracks reissued them once more, this time in a limited-edition vinyl box set.