Pitchfork

Kansas City post-grunge math-rockers Shiner have decided to call it quits after a decade of making music. According to their website, the band's final show will take place at the Madrid Theatre in their hometown of Kansas City on January 25th. "After much difficult deliberation, we, the gentlemen of Shiner have decided to end our working relationship together and pursue new projects. This was not an easy or quick decision. Ten years is a very long time to work together and we're very proud of what we've done..." Singer/guitarist Allen Epley said in a statement to Pitchfork that "the band felt like we needed to gain some fresh perspectives in making music. We needed to shake things up and make it fun again, and we want to do it while we are still friends." A most uncontroversial split, to say the least.

But if you think this is the last you'll hear from the band, think once, think twice, then think again, 'cause the boys've got a retrospective they're itchin' to get on shelves this spring. The disc will include songs from all of their seven-inch releases and compilation efforts, some unreleased demos, and god willing, a DVD containing live footage of their August 31st, 2002 show at the Metro in Chicago.

And speaking of comps: the band has contributed a cover of My Bloody Valentine's "Only Shallow" for a disc entitled, Soak your Shoes in Red Wine and Strike the Angels Dumb, which is due out on Grand Theft Autumn Records. Allen Epley has also covered Journey's "Anytime" with drummer Jason Gerkin for an upcoming tribute record (a Journey tribute now?! Jesus, people! We're talking Steve Perry here! Steve fucking Perry! Steve Perry! Do we need to say it again?) on Kansas City's Urinine Records.

Regarding the band members' new ventures, expect the band to split in two: Josh Newton (guitar, keyboards) and Paul Malinowski (bass, vocals) are playing together in a band called Fire of 1666 while working to round out the lineup, while Epley and Gerken will be recording demos in the coming months for a project to be named later.