Unearthing a Midwestern Gem: '90s Emo Trailblazers nymb Return with Remastered Career Catalog
The Chicagoland DIY scene is finally getting a vital piece of its history back. nymb and Forge Again Records have teamed up to release the band’s entire remastered catalog. This comprehensive collection includes resurrected demos, rare 7” vinyl tracks, and hidden gems that have spent decades locked away in the vault.
Formed in Crystal Lake, Illinois, in 1993, nymb was a foundational block of the midwestern emo and shoegaze movements. While their name might be a fresh discovery for modern listeners in many cases, the band holds a revered, "musician's musician" status among peers who shaped the era. Before their final curtain call at the legendary Fireside Bowl in August 2001, they regularly shared the stage with definitive indie titans like Jets to Brazil, Cursive, Hey Mercedes, and Rainer Maria. Thanks to a massive resurgence of young listeners seeking out authentic, obscure '90s indie rock, nymb's signature "soft/loud" sonic dynamics are ready for a new generation. Along with the re-issue campaign, the band has released a nostalgic music video for "Rope + Ring", directed and edited by Theo Katsaounis. The visual pairs the band's driving melody with rediscovered archive footage captured by the band and friends on tours between 1994 and 2001.
Check out the music video for “Rope + Ring” featuring rediscovered original band footage.
Every release in the catalog has been meticulously remastered by Carl Saff and features updated, expanded artwork by Wall of Youth. The centerpiece of the collection is Cutting Teeth: 1997 through 1999, a massive two LP and CD retrospective that marks the first time most of these early tracks have ever been pressed to vinyl. It compiles the band's core early output, including the Novembre, Glass Eye, and Sanders EPs, alongside The Fun Bobby Sessions, an acoustic version of "Rope and Ring," and a previously unreleased 1997 three song demo recorded by John Emerson. Listeners can also finally own So, This Is How It Is, the band’s debut full length studio album, on vinyl for the very first time. This definitive edition is bolstered by two bonus tracks from the original sessions with producer Jeremy Lemos, which originally served as b-sides to the "Breathing Out Vapors" single. Rounding out the re-issues is Nothing New, a rare, self-released effort that serves as nymb’s final studio album, now widely available on both CD and vinyl.
Order nymb’s re-issued catalog via Forge Again Records
The foundation for these records dates back to 1993, when two relocated teenagers, James "Jamie" Zoeller and Elaine Bradley, met in a high school band class in Crystal Lake. Bonded by a shared obsession with alternative heavyweights like the Smashing Pumpkins, Nirvana, and the Breeders, they immediately set out to form a band. With Jamie on guitar, Chad Price on bass, and Adam Kaczmarek on guitar, Elaine reluctantly pulled double duty as the lead vocalist and drummer just to get the project off the ground. They called themselves nymb, a stylized tribute to the dark 1982 animated fantasy film The Secret of NIMH. After two years of playing anywhere that would have them, from suburban garages and backyards to local high school parties, the band's dynamic shifted in 1996. Ben Kane stepped in to take over the drums, which finally allowed Elaine to step out from behind the kit to focus fully on vocals and guitar. With the later addition of Cory Verblen and eventually Nathan Snydacker on bass, nymb evolved into a relentless touring machine. This was a time before social media, where every show was an impression, and buying merch was the relied upon marketing. As the band grew up on the road, their style matured. They traded their early alternative rock influences for the heavier, textured guitar work and cemented their legacy as a permanent staple of Chicago's golden era of indie punk.
