Shudder to Think

The band's first lineup was Craig Wedren (vocals and guitar), Chris Matthews (guitar), Stuart Hill (bass) and Mike Russell (drums). In this incarnation, the band released one song on the Fetal Records compilation F-R-5 in 1987 ("Too little, too late"), two singles and one album (Curse, Spells, Voodoo, Mooses, 1989) before being signed by the Dischord label. Three albums were then released (Ten-Spot, 1990, Funeral at the Movies, 1991, and Get Your Goat, 1992), before the band gained greater exposure by touring with Fugazi and the Smashing Pumpkins; with their May 7, 1992 show in Albig, Germany being released by Tobby Holzinger as Your Choice Live Series Vol.21.[2]

Swiz ex-bassist Nathan Larson (guitars) and ex-Jawbox drummer Adam Wade replaced Matthews and Russell in 1992. Matthews and Russell last performed live with the band on January 1, 1992[3] and June 28, 1992[4] respectively, as announced by Wedren to the crowd during those concerts.

The band subsequently signed to Epic, with whom Pony Express Record was released in September 1994. The album's angular, mathematical post-hardcore earned it a devoted cult following - especially after the video for the track "X-French Tee Shirt" became a buzz clip on MTV and was regularly aired on the channel, as well as an article in Rolling Stone. The track also peaked at #36 on the Radio and Records Alternative chart.[5] The album had sold 30,000 copies in the United States by the end of October 1994,[6] and by February 1997 had sold 60,000 copies.[7]

Over the next few years, Wedren successfully battled Hodgkin's Disease, Larson recorded an album with side project band Mind Science of the Mind, and Wade left the group. He was replaced by Kevin March, formerly drummer with Dambuilders.

They released another album, 50,000 B.C., in 1997. The band also worked on music for soundtracks including First Love, Last Rites and High Art. In 1998, the band wrote and performed two songs for the film Velvet Goldmine.

However, 1998 marked Larson's departure and the end of the group. Wedren has pursued a solo career, including an appearance on the Down to You soundtrack with "Didn't Mean to Do You Harm", and contributed backing vocals to Verve Pipe's 1999 eponymous album.

Both Larson and Wedren have gone on to create highly regarded music for films. David Wain, founder of comedy troupe The State, was a high-school friend of Wedren's, and Wedren's music has appeared in many television series and films stemming from the troupe and its alumni, such as Reno 911! and Wet Hot American Summer. Wedren also makes solo music, and released his debut album, Lapland, in 2005. Larson has formed a new band called Hot One.

The band, which has been classified as post-hardcore,[14] embraced "pop influences and a skewed sense of songwriting"[15] while coming from a hardcore punk background "courtesy of their affiliation" with Dischord.[15] Reviewer Charles Spano characterized some of the band's work as the result of the group skewing "their pop brilliance with Ric Ocasek grooves, a [David] Bowie and [...] Roxy Music glam bent [...], and the theatrics of Queen."[16]

In the 2018 book Long Live Queen, when DJ/VJ Matt Pinfield was asked if Queen was an influence on 1990s alt-rock, he replied:

"Look at a band like Shudder to Think and a song like 'X-French Tee Shirt,' which was such a great song, because [the middle part] was one note, and he was singing two octaves over that."[17]

In an interview from 1995, James Iha of The Smashing Pumpkins praised the band's originality, saying:

"Shudder to Think, I think, is a wholly original, amazing rock band. They're a rock band but they're totally different than what you've heard before in the guitar playing, the drumming, the bass, singing, it's all amazing. If you listen to a Shudder to Think record, you might be able to point to a few references but there's no way you could tag that band. And they're good, they write good songs. They're totally original."[18]

• Craig Wedren - lead vocals & guitar (1986–1998, 2007–2009)
• Stuart Hill - bass (1986–1998)
• Chris Matthews - guitar (1986–1992)
• Mike Russell - drums (1986–1992)
• Nathan Larson - guitar (1992–1998, 2007–2008)
• Adam Wade - drums (1992–1996, 2008-2013)
• Kevin March - drums (1996–1998, 2007–2009)
• Mark Watrous - guitar (2007–2009)
• Jesse Krakow - bass (2007–2009)