Carissa's Wierd
Biography
Carissa's Wierd are an American indie rock band formed in Tucson, Arizona in 1995. They are based in Seattle, Washington.
Mat Brooke and Jenn Champion formed Carissa's Wierd and released three albums before their 2003 breakup. They announced their return in 2025. Their plaintive, melancholy, beautiful music won over many who were exposed to it. The band's lineup changed throughout the band's existence. Mainstays in the band included violinist Sarah Standard, drummer (and later bassist) Ben Bridwell, drummer Sera Cahoone, drummer Creighton Barrett, and keyboard/accordian player Jeff Hellis. Their final album, Songs About Leaving, was a modest success in the Northwest, topping many critics charts and leaving fans hungry for more. Sadly, the band decided to go their separate ways in September of 2003. Jenn is now performing under the name S and Brooke and Bridwell went on to create Band of Horses. Brooke has since moved on to become part of Grand Archives and Sera Cahoone has launched her solo career. As of April 2007, both Grand Archives and Sera Cahoone have been signed to Sub Pop Records. In March 2010, Hardly Art announced that it would release a compilation of Carissa's Wierd material, with songs picked by Brooke and Champion, followed by reissues of the group's first three full-length records. The band played a reunion show on July 9, 2010 to support the compilation.
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On August 2, 2011, Hardly Art announced pre-orders for a new 7", called 'Tucson,' and would include two new songs, the band's first recordings in over seven years featuring the original lineup. The 7" would include the songs 'Tucson' and 'Meredith & Iris,' and on August 4, 2011, Meredith & Iris was put up for stream on soundcloud. It was also announced that the band would be playing another reunion show in Seattle on September 24, 2011.
On September 11, 2026, the band announced their new album Somewhere Further Than Far Away, their first record of new material in 25 years, for release on January 8, 2027, alongside the release of the LP's lead single No One Lives Here Anymore.
Biography text from Last.fm, available under CC BY-SA.