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Formed after the 1997 breakup of singer/songwriter Joe Pernice's alt-country group the Scud Mountain Boys, the Pernice Brothers did an about-face from the lush '70s country sound of their final album, Massachusetts, and came up with the lush orchestrated pop of 1998's Overcome By Happiness. Recorded for Sub Pop, the album featured Joe's brother Bob (the lone holdover from the Scuds), guitarist Peyton Pinkerton from the New Radiant Storm Kings, bassist/producer Thom Monahan, drummer Aaron Sperske, and pianist/producer Mike Deming, and was a 12-song revelation to fans of smart and arranged modern pop music. There were almost no traces of country left in Pernice's sound; instead influences like Brian Wilson, the Left Banke, and Todd Rundgren seemed to be his main inspiration. Following the release of its debut album, the band went into a self-imposed hiatus as Joe Pernice released a record in early 2000 on Sub Pop under the name Chappaquiddick Skyline. The record featured personnel made...