Representative Albums: "Cannibal Sea," "Everything Is Green," "The Long Goodbye"
Biography
Neo-psychedelic pop outfit the Essex Green were formed in mid-1997 after four members of the Burlington, VT-based Guppyboy -- singer/guitarist Chris Ziter, singer/keyboardist Sasha Bell, guitarist Jeff Baron, and bassist Mike Barrett -- relocated to Brooklyn, NY. Completing the lineup with drummer Tim Barnes, the group appeared at various New York City clubs before touring the East Coast with Aden and Saturnine, releasing a split single with the Sixth Great Lake in the spring of 1999. The Essex Green's full-length debut, Everything Is Green, appeared on Kindercore later that year, and a self-titled EP on Elephant6 followed in early 2000; concurrently, both Bell and Baron played in the likeminded Ladybug Transistor and, with the addition of Zachary Ward, moonlighted as the aforementioned Sixth Great Lake, releasing Up the Country for Kindercore. Bell (recording as the Finishing School) also released the lovely and overlooked 2003 album Destination Girl. In 2004, the Essex Green inked a deal with Merge and issued The Long Goodbye as a trio (Barrett having left the group), following it up with the finest record of their career, 2006's Cannibal Sea. ~ Jason Ankeny & Tim Sendra, All Music Guide
The Essex Green are an indie rock band from Brooklyn, NY. The band is primarily composed of songwriters Jeff Baron, Sasha Bell and Chris Ziter, and specialize in a classic sound inspired by 1960s–1970s pop and folk in the tradition of bands like The Left Banke and Fairport Convention.
The band formed from the ashes of the Burlington, Vermont band Guppyboy when members Baron, Bell, Ziter and Michael Barrett moved to Brooklyn. The Essex Green formed in 1997, adding drummer Tim Barnes, and began to play shows around New York. They issued a split-7" single with The Sixth Great Lake (a Guppyboy/Essex Green-related side project) in 1999. They were asked by Robert Schneider to be a part of The Elephant Six Collective and recorded a self-titled EP, later signing to Kindercore Records, who released their first full-length album later that year. After a number of tours and the release of some EPs and singles, the group signed with Merge Records who released their second album in 2003. After a world tour, they headed back to the studio in fall of 2005 to begin work on their third album, Cannibal Sea, which was released in March of 2006.
Discography
The Essex Green has released a number of albums and singles across a variety of labels.
