Many bands come and go in the annuls of Indie Rock but few leave their mark. But even minor-league fame is fleeting. Enter midwestern Indie Rock stalwarts Earwig. 
Earwig’s reckless rock is unsung by today’s mainstream, they remain one of the underground’s best kept secret. In 1996 the Hollywood A&R army descended on Ohio with promises of major label contracts and stardom. Despite serious interest, the band never ended up signing a deal. It would seem that Earwig grabbed for the Brass Ring but somehow missed it.
There are those who think that Earwig is just “…that band from Ohio that writes great songs but never got famous.” Certainly there’s a bit more to it than that but there’s also a kernel of truth to that statement. Somehow released from the whirlwind that was the Grunge Gold Rush, the band has consistently toured and released forward-sounding music since their inception in 1992.
Earwig has always held a select, loyal fan-base and the band’s albums have all met with critical praise but they have never bubbled over to the masses or reached beyond cult status. The band survived the indie-rock major label signing frenzy of the late ’90s with their integrity intact and, against the odds, endured to make more great records. Earwig has continued to evolve and thrive, and they are currently at work on a new record for 2018.
It can be argued that 2011’s Gibson Under Mountain is a shiny culmination of all of the Earwig recordings that came before it. The album was criminally under-promoted and it is held to be one of the band’s best albums by those fans  “in the know”. Despite that acclaim it remains Earwig’s least-selling and one of their lesser-known releases. With its radio-ready mixes (courtesy of Mike Landolt, mixer/producer Maroon 5, Spin Doctors) and an excess of taut vocals and crunchy hit singles, this collection should have been the band’s break-out album by any measure. As it is the album stands as a high-water mark, a grand achievement for a largely unknown underground rock group and a tribute to a band that never surrendered. The reissue hits the streets February 13.
Purchas it here: www.lizardfamily.com or here earwig.bandcamp.com.