Built on the strong partnership of bassist Toko Yasuda and guitarist Chris Leo, the Lapse formed late in 1997. Each of the partners had long histories in the world of independent music, with Toko Yasuda as a one-time member of the international avant-rock outfit Blonde Redhead, and Chris Leo's past with the New Jersey-based Van Pelt. The Lapse's sound can be understood through these histories, steeped in noisy, riff-oriented post-rock and cerebral lyrical eulogizing. Performing as a trio with a constantly rotating roster of drummers, the respective resumés of the Lapse brought...