Chicago math rock compilationaries, Cap’n Jazz have announced their reunion with an expanded vinyl reissue of their Jade Tree anthology and their first show is scheduled for July 17 at Bottom Lounge.

The Midwest indie supergroup consisting of the Kinsella brothers, Tim (Joan of Arc) and Mike (Owen), along with The Promise Ring’s Davey von Bohlen, and Victor Villareal (Owls) and Sam Zurick (Make Believe) were instrumental in the foundation of my early indie rock literacy and established the basis for what I feel was the true Chicago underground sound of the mid-’90s.

Some may be familiar with one of the 549 (estimated) compilations to which they have contributed, including Achtung Chicago! Zwei! (1993), How the Midwest Was Won (1993), Picking More Daisies (1993), and Ooh Do I Love You (1995) in addition to a few others. Aside from a 7” and a couple LPs, they only released one full album, whose title clocks in at 28 words, so most call it Schmap’n Schmazz. In 1998 Jade Tree Records released a Cap’n Jazz double-CD retrospective called Analphabetapolothology.

Many would classify Cap’n Jazz as math rock band and some, who perhaps don’t know better, would call them emo. Back before all those guyliner bands like Fall Out Boy and 30 Seconds to Mars, emo was a term used to classify hardcore punk bands that used personal lyrics and less-abrasive music. Cap’n Jazz lyrics may have been deeply personal to Tim Kinsella, but for the most part they were personified by enigmatic verse like “We’re busy touching till we’re dizzy stupid” (”Puddle Splashers”) or “We’re using judo like Bruce Lee in a haste to bruise me” (”Little League”). Jade Tree will be reissuing Analphabetapolothology on vinyl on June 15 along with a digital download code for nine additional tracks.

Video for “Forget Who We Are”

Download Cap’n Jazz -- “Oh Messy Life” (MP3)