Editing Cursive (band) (section)

==History==

=== Early years and breakup (1995–98) ===
Cursive formed in the spring of 1995, shortly after [[Slowdown Virginia]] broke up. Slowdown Virginia members [[Tim Kasher]] (lead vocals, guitar), [[Matt Maginn]] (bass), and [[Steve Pedersen]] (guitar) had parted ways, along with their drummer, a month prior. The three members decided that they were not ready to give up making music, and wanted to give music a serious try, with Kasher saying, "[we] decided with Cursive we would write the best we could, believe in it, and if everyone ended up hating it – well, we would deal with it."<ref>{{Cite web|title = Interviews -Cursive-|url = http://www.e-vol.co.jp/hardlistening/interviews/cursive_e_1.html|website = www.e-vol.co.jp|access-date = 2015-12-15}}</ref> [[Clint Schnase]], who played with Pedersen in a band called [[Smashmouth (indie rock band)|Smashmouth]], joined as the drummer. Kasher has said that the band's name was inspired by a passage in a book by [[V. S. Naipaul]], in which the British were forcing [[British Raj|subjugated Indians]] to learn how to write English in [[Cursive|cursive penmanship]], symbolic of a pointless exercise with no value, and Kasher compares this to the band forcing music as a discipline, taking it seriously.<ref>{{Cite web|title = Cursive|url = http://freewilliamsburg.com/march_2003/cursive.html|website = freewilliamsburg.com|access-date = 2015-12-11|archive-date = 2016-03-04|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160304120632/http://freewilliamsburg.com/march_2003/cursive.html|url-status = dead}}</ref>

With an initial  sound characterized by one reviewer as similar to [[At the Drive-In]],<ref>{{Cite web|title = Cursive – The Difference Between Houses And Homes (Lost Songs And Loose Ends 1995–2001)|url = https://www.punknews.org/review/4252/cursive-the-difference-between-houses-and-homes-lost-songs-and-loose-ends-1995-2001|website = www.punknews.org| date=12 August 2005 |access-date = 2015-12-15}}</ref> in 1996 Cursive recorded and released ''The Disruption'' EP on [[Saddle Creek Records|Lumberjack Records]], followed in 1997 by the ''[[Sucker and Dry]]'' [[Extended play|EP]]  on [[Zero Hour Records]] and their debut album, ''[[Such Blinding Stars for Starving Eyes]]'', on [[Crank! A Record Company|Crank! Records]]. A follow-up EP, ''[[The Icebreaker]],'' was released in early 1998. The Katz brothers of ''Sputnik Music'' summarize ''Such Blinding Stars'' and Cursive's sound at the time as "11 distortion soaked, emotion ridden songs, comes off as a younger, worse, version of the band's breakthrough ''Domestica''"<ref>{{Cite web|title = Cursive – Such Blinding Stars for Starving Eyes (album review )|url = https://www.sputnikmusic.com/review/11734/Cursive-Such-Blinding-Stars-for-Starving-Eyes/|website = www.sputnikmusic.com|access-date = 2015-12-11}}</ref> while ''AllMusic''<nowiki/>'s Peter D'Angelo said the album "lays down the framework for the Cursive method: delicate guitars that erupt into frenzied explosions, a rhythm section that consistently keeps each track barreling forward, and the harrowing vocal contributions of Tim Kasher."<ref>{{Cite web|title = Such Blinding Stars for Starving Eyes – Cursive|url = http://www.allmusic.com/album/such-blinding-stars-for-starving-eyes-mw0000026391|website = AllMusic|access-date = 2015-12-11}}</ref>

In late spring of 1998, after a couple years of touring, Cursive announced that they were breaking up. The primary cause was Kasher's marriage and move with his wife to [[Portland, Oregon]], though guitarist Pedersen was planning on also leaving the band and Omaha to attend law school in [[North Carolina]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Solving a Million and One Philosophical Dilemmas with Tim Kasher of Cursive |url=http://welcometoflavorcountry.com/2013/02/11/solving-a-million-and-one-philosophical-dilemmas-with-tim-kasher-of-cursive/ |date=2013-12-19 |access-date=2015-12-11 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131219200644/http://welcometoflavorcountry.com/2013/02/11/solving-a-million-and-one-philosophical-dilemmas-with-tim-kasher-of-cursive/ |archive-date=December 19, 2013 }}</ref> Cursive recorded ''[[The Storms of Early Summer: Semantics of Song]]'' as a [[swan song]] in the spring of '98 before disbanding, and released the album post-breakup in the fall of that year on [[Saddle Creek Records]]. ''The Storms of Early Summer'' was Kasher and Cursive's first foray into writing and recording a concept album, with the first half of the album being themed "Man vs. Nature" and the second half "Man vs. Self". The album was noted for its intricate guitar work, deeply thoughtful lyrics, and the beginnings of a [[Math rock|math-rock]]/pop song structure, all of which would develop more on further Cursive albums.<ref>{{Cite web|title = Album Search for "the storms of early summer semantics of song"|url = http://www.allmusic.com/search/albums/the+storms+of+early+summer+semantics+of+song|website = AllMusic|access-date = 2015-12-11}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title = Cursive – The Storms of Early Summer: Semantics of Song|url = https://www.punknews.org/review/10652/cursive-the-storms-of-early-summer-semantics-of-song|website = www.punknews.org| date=6 July 2006 |access-date = 2015-12-11}}</ref>

=== Reformation: ''Domestica'' and ''Burst and Bloom'' (1999–2002) ===
A little over a year later, in the summer of 1999, the band re-formed when Kasher got divorced and returned to Omaha. With Pedersen gone to law school, [[Ted Stevens (musician)|Ted Stevens]] (formerly of [[Lullaby for the Working Class]]) joined the band on guitar and vocals. Within a year Cursive recorded and released their third full-length album, ''[[Cursive's Domestica|Domestica]]'', in 2000. A concept album about the dissolution of a marriage, ''Domestica'' gained Cursive critical success for the first time.<ref>{{Cite web|title = Cursive – Burst And Bloom|url = https://www.punknews.org/review/361/cursive-burst-and-bloom|website = www.punknews.org| date=14 July 2001 |access-date = 2015-12-11}}</ref> While not a straightforward autobiographical account of his marriage, Kasher has acknowledged that it heavily influenced the album, though some of the relationship dynamics – such as infidelity – were not autobiographical.<ref>{{Cite web|title = Lazyeye Interview: Cursive – Domestica|url = http://www.timmcmahan.com/cursive2.htm|website = www.timmcmahan.com|access-date = 2015-12-11}}</ref> Reviewing ''Domestica'', ''[[Pitchfork Media|Pitchfork]]''<nowiki/>'s Taylor Clark gave the album an 8.0/10.0, calling Tim Kasher's style as "the perfect inflection and expression from the far-from-perfect vocal chords, the brains evident behind the guitar brawn" and that the band's sound had evolved since ''The Storms of Early Summer'', saying that Cursive "retained their razor edge, creating pulsing, rapidly evolving guitar-based music, yet they're now fueled and guided by the meaning behind the music".<ref>{{Cite web|title = Cursive: Cursive's Domestica|url = http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/1700-cursives-domestica/|website = Pitchfork|access-date = 2015-12-11|language = en-US}}</ref>

Cursive added [[Gretta Cohn]] as a cellist in 2001, as Kasher felt the addition would help the band evolve its sound. They recorded and released 2001's ''[[Burst and Bloom]]'' EP on Saddle Creek Records, and split an album with Japanese band [[Eastern Youth]] in 2002 called ''[[8 Teeth to Eat You]]'' on [[Better Looking Records]]. ''Burst and Bloom''<nowiki/>'s lead-off track, "Sink to the Beat", is a lyrically [[Meta (prefix)|meta]]-concept song about the process of recording the EP itself and the effect it has on the music and the listener.<ref>{{Cite web|title = In Music We Trust – Cursive: Burst and Bloom|url = http://www.inmusicwetrust.com/articles/39r15.html|website = www.inmusicwetrust.com|access-date = 2015-12-11}}</ref> Cursive toured extensively throughout 2001 and 2002, to the point of exhaustion and Kasher suffering a [[Pneumothorax|collapsed lung]]. The band had to cancel the rest of the tour and returned to writing new material.<ref>{{Cite web|title = Album Review: Cursive – The Ugly Organ [Reissue]|url = https://consequence.net/2014/11/album-review-cursive-the-ugly-organ-reissue/|website = Consequence of Sound|date = 20 November 2014|access-date = 2015-12-11|language = en-US}}</ref>

=== ''The Ugly Organ'' and hiatus (2003–05) ===
Cursive released ''[[The Ugly Organ]],'' their fourth album, in 2003 on Saddle Creek Records to critical and commercial success.  Music magazine ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' gave the album a 4-star rating,<ref name="rolling-stone-ugly-organ">{{cite magazine
  | last = Sanneh
  | first = Kelefa
  | title = The Ugly Organ : Review
  | magazine = Rolling Stone
  | issue = 919
  | date = 2003-04-03
  | url = https://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/album/266310/the_ugly_organ
  | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071017150004/http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/album/266310/the_ugly_organ
  | url-status = dead
  | archive-date = October 17, 2007
  | access-date =2008-01-17}}</ref> while alternative music magazine ''[[Alternative Press (music magazine)|Alternative Press]]'' rated the album a perfect 5 out of 5.<ref name="alt-press-ugly-organ">{{cite journal| title =The Ugly Organ : Review| journal =Alternative Press| date =2003-04-01| url =http://saddle-creek.com/bands/reviews_cursive.php?id_number=610| access-date =2008-01-17| url-status =dead| archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20071108091009/http://saddle-creek.com/bands/reviews_cursive.php?id_number=610| archive-date =2007-11-08}}</ref> At the time of ''The Ugly Organ''<nowiki/>'s tenth anniversary reissue in 2014, the album had sold over 170,000 records.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Songs Perverse and Songs of Lament: Reflections on Cursive's Accidental Masterpiece, 'The Ugly Organ' |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/cursive-the-ugly-organ-retrospective/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230525065649/https://www.vice.com/en/article/rnwjbd/cursive-the-ugly-organ-retrospective |archive-date=May 25, 2023 |access-date=2015-12-11 |website=NOISEY|date=24 November 2014 }}</ref>

''The Ugly Organ'' is a loose concept album about the ideas of what art and music are, how the song, singer, and audience all relate and influence each other, and the emotional effects of the songwriting process on the writer.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1">{{Cite web|title = Cursive: The Ugly Organ (Reissue)|url = http://www.popmatters.com/review/190378-cursive-the-ugly-organ-reissue/|website = PopMatters|access-date = 2015-12-11}}</ref> Kasher stated in an interview with ''Alternative Press'' in 2014 that the songs he wrote were not written to be tight conceptually, and credits guitarist and sometimes-vocalist Ted Stevens with finding the theme to the album, saying, "Really, Ted [Stevens, guitar] had a large role in laying the songs out and considering what they all meant and how they related to each other and creating a higher concept from the artwork, of the theatrical layout."<ref>{{Cite web|title = "I remember a feeling of dread after making it"—Cursive's Tim Kasher on 'The Ugly Organ' – Features – Alternative Press|url = http://www.altpress.com/features/entry/i_remember_a_feeling_of_dread_after_making_itcursives_tim_kasher_on_the_ugl|website = Alternative Press|date = 21 November 2014|access-date = 2015-12-11}}</ref>  The addition of Cohn's cello to the music was noted by Adam Finley of ''Pop Matters'' as helping to give songs a "sense of epic scale" and "threatening edge", and that the songs overall sounded as though "all roads led through a haunted house of grotesque situations and twisted characters, each a reflection through a broken carnival mirror of Kasher converting pounds of flesh into something saleable."<ref name=":1" />

After extensive touring to support ''The Ugly Organ'' in 2003 and early 2004, Kasher surprised fans and critics by announcing an indefinite hiatus for Cursive in the fall of 2004 once they finished their tour with [[The Cure]].<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|title = Lazy-i Feature: Cursive – November 2005|url = http://www.timmcmahan.com/cursive3.htm|website = www.timmcmahan.com|access-date = 2015-12-11}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title = News: Cursive Breaks Up?|url = http://www.scenepointblank.com/news/splits/2004/09/12/cursive-breaks-up/|website = Scene Point Blank|access-date = 2015-12-11}}</ref> Lead singer and songwriter Tim Kasher took time to focus on his other band, [[The Good Life (band)|The Good Life]], which he had formed in 2000 and whose third release, 2004's ''[[Album of the Year (The Good Life album)|Album of the Year]]'', was enjoying critical success.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web|title = Cursive – Happy Hollow|url = https://www.punknews.org/review/5570/cursive-happy-hollow|website = www.punknews.org| date=22 August 2006 |access-date = 2015-12-11}}</ref> Ted Stevens worked on his other band, [[Mayday (Nebraska band)|Mayday]], along with bassist Matt Maginn, releasing their third album, ''[[Bushido Karaoke]]'', in 2005.<ref name=":2" /> Drummer Clint Schnase along with bassist Matt Maginn toured with [[Bright Eyes (band)|Bright Eyes]], including 2004's [[Vote for Change]]<ref name=":2" /> Cellist Gretta Cohn decided to depart the band permanently, relocating to New York City.<ref name="gretta-leaves">{{cite web
  |title = Cellist Gretta Cohn leaves Cursive|publisher = punknews.org|date = 2005-08-24|url = http://punknews.org/article/13564|access-date = 2008-01-17}}</ref>

Saddle Creek Records put out a Cursive [[compilation album]], ''[[The Difference Between Houses and Homes]]'', on August 9, 2005. These songs were collected from ''The Disruption'', ''Sucker and Dry'' and ''The Icebreaker'' EPs, as well as some [[A-side and B-side|b-sides]] and unreleased material recorded between 1995 and 2001.<ref>{{Cite web|title = Cursive: The Difference Between Houses and Homes|url = http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/1702-the-difference-between-houses-and-homes/|website = Pitchfork|access-date = 2015-12-11|language = en-US}}</ref>

=== ''Happy Hollow'' and ''Mama, I'm Swollen'' (2006–11) ===
Cursive's hiatus ceased in 2006 when [[Saddle Creek]] announced that Kasher had temporarily stopped his work on his side project, [[The Good Life (band)|The Good Life]], to start recording Cursive's fifth studio album. ''[[Happy Hollow (album)|Happy Hollow]]'' was released on August 22, 2006. Its first single was "Dorothy at Forty", released on July 11, 2006.  Named for the [[Dundee-Happy Hollow Historic District]] in Omaha, Nebraska, where [[Warren Buffett]] lives,<ref>{{Cite web|title = Dundee Homes for Sale & Real Estate – Omaha, Nebraska|url = http://www.omahahomesforsale.com/dundee.php|website = www.omahahomesforsale.com|access-date = 2015-12-11}}</ref> with this album Kasher turned his focus away from self-reflective lyrics to concentrate on what he thought were corrupt politics, bland and empty suburban lives, and Christian hypocrisy.<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":5">{{Cite web|title = Cursive: Mama, I'm Swollen|url = http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/12818-mama-im-swollen/|website = Pitchfork|access-date = 2015-12-11|language = en-US}}</ref>  The album received generally favorable reviews.<ref name=":4" /> Music magazines ''[[Spin (magazine)|Spin]]'', ''[[URB (magazine)|URB]]'', ''[[Time Out New York]]'', and ''[[Blender (magazine)|Blender]]'' gave the record a 4 star rating, and ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' gave the album a 3.5-star rating,<ref name=":4">{{Cite web|title = Happy Hollow by Cursive|url = http://www.metacritic.com/music/happy-hollow/cursive/critic-reviews|website = Metacritic|access-date = 2015-12-11}}</ref> while alternative music magazine ''[[Alternative Press (music magazine)|Alternative Press]]'' rated the album a perfect 5 out of 5,<ref name="alt-press-happy-hollow">{{cite journal
  | last = Karan
  | first = Tim
  | title = The Da Vinci Code for Indie Rockers
  | journal = Alternative Press
  | date = 2006-12-05
  | url = http://altpress.com/reviews/393.htm
  | access-date = 2008-01-17
  | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110815164354/http://www.altpress.com/reviews/393.htm
  | archive-date = 2011-08-15
  | url-status = dead
  }}</ref> saying "Cursive haven't just redefined their sound—they've transcended it." ''[[Happy Hollow (album)|Happy Hollow]]'' features a five-piece horn section, adding new texture and redefining the band's sound in place of Cohn's departed cello.<ref name=":3" />

Cursive's sixth album, ''[[Mama, I'm Swollen]]'' was released on March 10, 2009 on Saddle Creek Records. Three days later, the band made their network television debut on the ''[[Late Show with David Letterman]]'', playing "From The Hips''"''.<ref>{{Cite web|title = Videos: Cursive: "From The Hips" live on Letterman|url = https://www.punknews.org/article/32704/videos-cursive-from-the-hips-live-on-letterman|website = www.punknews.org| date=15 March 2009 |access-date = 2015-12-11}}</ref> The album was the first recorded without drummer Clint Schnase, who departed the band in October of 2007. Schnase was replaced on drums with Matt "Cornbread" Compton, who had previously been touring with the band.<ref>{{Cite web|title = Clint Schnase leaves Cursive – News – Alternative Press|url = http://www.altpress.com/news/entry/archive_2876|website = Alternative Press|access-date = 2015-12-11|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151222094108/http://www.altpress.com/news/entry/archive_2876|archive-date = 2015-12-22|url-status = dead}}</ref> Retaining the horns used on ''Happy Hollow, Mama, I'm Swollen''  has a more straightforward rock sound mixed with shifts in keys and time signatures to break up the potential for monotony.<ref name=":5" /> Thematically, ''Mama, I'm Swollen'' returns to much of the "romantic narcissism"<ref>{{Cite web|title = Cursive – Mama, I'm Swollen (album review )|url = https://www.sputnikmusic.com/review/29820/Cursive-Mama-Im-Swollen/|website = www.sputnikmusic.com|access-date = 2015-12-11}}</ref> found in ''Domestica'' and loses most of the political focus of ''Happy Hollow'', instead concentrating on the futility of adult life and the "worthlessness of humanity, and the Peter Pan Syndrome of adults who want to 'live life duty free' or fuck away their fears."<ref name=":5" /> ''Mama, I'm Swollen'' failed to garner the critical success of the past few Cursive albums, with a "[[Weighted arithmetic mean|weighted average]]" score of 65 on [[Metacritic]], indicating "generally favorable reviews".<ref>{{Cite web|title = Mama, I'm Swollen by Cursive|url = http://www.metacritic.com/music/mama-im-swollen/cursive|website = Metacritic|access-date = 2015-12-11}}</ref>

=== ''I Am Gemini'' (2012–2014) ===
The follow-up to ''[[Mama, I'm Swollen]]'', called ''[[I Am Gemini]]'', was released on February 21, 2012 on Saddle Creek Records. Cornbread Compton was replaced by Cully Symington prior to recording the album. With a lyric sheet described by Ian Cohen of ''Pitchfork Media'' as a "full-blown [[libretto]]", ''I Am Gemini'' is presented as a play, telling the story of "twin brothers separated at birth, one good and one evil, their unexpected reunion in a house that is not a home ignites a classic struggle for the soul."<ref>{{Cite web|title = Cursive: I Am Gemini|url = http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/16291-i-am-gemini/|website = Pitchfork|access-date = 2015-12-11|language = en-US}}</ref> The album has been characterized as difficult to access musically, with ''Paste Magazine''<nowiki/>'s Tyler Kain saying "[Cursive's] signature parts are still there with those gnarled, winding guitar parts and Matt Maginn's melodic, grounded bass lines. But the exploration of off-kilter changes, funny time signatures and near-metal breakdowns can make ''Gemini'' a hard first listen." ''I Am Gemini'' received a similar critical evaluation as ''Mama, I'm Swollen'', scoring a measure of 63 on "weighted average" from Metacritic, or generally favorable reviews.<ref>{{Cite web|title = I Am Gemini by Cursive|url = http://www.metacritic.com/music/i-am-gemini/cursive|website = Metacritic|access-date = 2015-12-11}}</ref>

''The Ugly Organ'' was reissued by Cursive and Saddle Creek in 2014, featuring four additional tracks originally released on ''8 Teeth to Eat You'' and four songs from singles and compilations. Cursive went on a brief tour in the spring of 2014 to support the reissue.<ref>{{Cite web|title = Cursive Announce The Ugly Organ Reissue, Tour|url = http://pitchfork.com/news/57100-cursive-announce-the-ugly-organ-reissue-tour/|website = Pitchfork|date = 15 October 2014|access-date = 2015-12-11|language = en-US}}</ref>

=== 15 Passenger, ''Vitriola'', and ''Get Fixed'' (2017–present)  ===
Cursive launched their own record label in early 2017, 15 Passenger. The debut release for the label was a new solo album from Kasher, ''No Resolution''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://lazy-i.com/2017/01/whats-15-passenger-and-whats-it-mean-for-saddle-creek-new-kasher-music-dave-dondero-the-morbs-red-cities-tonight-worried-mothers-saturday-cold-cave-sunday/|title=Lazy-i » What's 15 Passenger (and what's it mean for Saddle Creek)? New Kasher music; Dave Dondero, The Morbs, Red Cities tonight; Worried Mothers Saturday; Cold Cave CANCELLED…|website=lazy-i.com|date=13 January 2017 |language=en-US|access-date=2018-03-24}}</ref> The band reissued their first two albums through 15 Passenger in the fall of 2017,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://modern-vinyl.com/2017/01/12/cursive-reissuing-back-catalog-through-new-label/|title=Cursive reissuing back catalog through new label|website=modern-vinyl.com|language=en-US|access-date=2018-03-24}}</ref> with plans to continue reissuing all of their releases through the label as well as new material. In addition to Cursive's and Kasher's work, 15 Passenger releases material from other artists as well.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.15passenger.com/about|title=15 Passenger - About|website=www.15passenger.com|access-date=2018-03-24}}</ref>

In August 2018, Cursive announced their eighth studio album ''[[Vitriola]]''. It was also announced that Clint Schnase would be returning to the band in order for previous drummer Symington to focus on recording and touring with [[Sparta (band)|Sparta]]. The album also features contributions from cellist Megan Siebe, who had previously toured alongside Kasher in an acoustic duo mode. This marks the first Cursive album to feature cello since ''The Ugly Organ''. The album's lead single, "Life Savings", was released on the same day.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Gray |first1=Julia |title=Cursive – "Life Savings" |url=https://www.stereogum.com/2009270/cursive-life-savings-vitriola-tim-kasher/music/ |website=Stereogum.com |date=8 August 2018 |publisher=Billboard Music |access-date=9 August 2018}}</ref>

''[[Get Fixed]]'', the band's ninth studio album, was announced alongside the release of the song "Stranded Satellite" on October 1, 2019. ''Get Fixed'' was released digitally on October 11, 2019. Vinyl and compact disc versions were released on January 17, 2020. Songs from the album were primarily written and recorded during the sessions for ''Vitriola'' with the intent of releasing a double album. The band ended up planning the songs for a second album, and wrote some new material to accompany the songs recorded during ''Vitriola''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2019/10/cursive-announce-new-album-get-fixed-share-single.html|title=Cursive Announce Surprise Album Get Fixed, Share Single "Stranded Satellite"|date=2019-10-01|website=pastemagazine.com|language=en|access-date=2019-10-01}}</ref> The album's announcement was preceded by the release of the songs "Barricades", "Black Hole Town", and "Marigolds" in September 2019.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://undertheradarmag.com/news/cursive_announce_new_album_for_release_next_week_share_new_song_stranded_sa|title=Cursive Announce New Album for Release Next Week, Share New Song "Stranded Satellite"|last=Roberts|first=Christopher|website=undertheradarmag.com|language=en|access-date=2019-10-01}}</ref>