The M's

Chicago noise pop quartet the M's formed in the summer of 2000. Singer/guitarist Josh Chicoine, late of local jam band Jamestown, first collaborated with drummer Steve Versaw in the short-lived psych pop outfit Sanoponic, and after that project dissolved, Versaw moved in with singer/bassist Joey King (his onetime bandmate in the Kalamazoo-based Ordination of Aaron) and singer/guitarist Robert Hicks. The four musicians became regular collaborators, building a home studio and regularly recording original material; when the Chicago club Martyrs contacted Chicoine in the hopes of booking the now-defunct Sanoponic, he accepted the offer, convincing Versaw, King, and Hicks to play the shows instead. The M's made their live debut in July 2001, and their clever, melodic approach quickly earned a strong local following; they self-released an eponymous EP the following February, soon after reissued by the Brilliante label with the addition of two new tracks. Initial plans called for Brilliante to release two more EPs, but all the material was instead culled together to create the M's' debut full-length, a self-titled effort issued in the spring of 2004.