Loose-knit folk-noir confederation the Willard Grant Conspiracy was formed in Boston in 1995 by singer Robert Fisher and guitarist Paul Austin, longtime collaborators who previously teamed in the noise-rock outfit the Flower Tamers. Asked to test-drive a friend's new home recording studio, the duo recruited guitarist Sean O'Brien and within days completed work on the debut Willard Grant Conspiracy record, 3 AM Sunday at Fortune Otto's, issued on Fisher's own Dahlia Records imprint in 1996. From there the group evolved into an ever-changing collective of some 20 local musicians...