Editing Cursive (band) (section)

=== 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>